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ORIGINAL  LETTERS, 


ILLUSTRATIVE    OF 


ENGLISH  HISTORY. 


LONDON : 

PEINTED  BY  THOMAS  DAVISON,  WHITEFRIARS. 


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ORIGINAL  LETTERS, 

ILLUSTRATIVE    OF 

ENGLISH  HISTORY; 

INCLUDIKG 

NUMEROUS    ROYAL    LETTERS: 
FROM  AUTOGRAPHS  IN  THE  BRITISH  MUSEUM, 

AND 

ONE  OR  TWO  OTHER  COLLECTIONS. 


WITH  NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS, 

BY 

HENRY  ELLIS,  F.R.S.  Sec.S.A. 

KEE^EB    OF    THE    MANCSCBIPTS    IN    THE    BRITISH    MUSEUM. 


SECOND  SERIES. 

IN    FOUK    VOLUMES. 

VOL.  IV. 


LONDON : 

PRINTED    FOR 

HARDING  AND  LEPARD,  PALL-MALL  EAST. 


MDCCCXXVII. 


CONTENTS. 


VOL.  IV. 


LETTKR 
CCCIX. 


CCCXII. 


CCCXIV. 


tccxvi. 


PAGE 

Mr.  Jo.  Greenhalgh  to  his  friend  Mr.  Tho- 
mas Crompton.  A  Visit  to  the  Jewish 
Synagogue  established  in  London 3 

The  Rev.  Stephen  Bing  to  Dr.  Bancroft  Dean 
of  St.  Pauls :  upon  the  ravage  of  the  Great 
Plague 22 

Mr.  Bing  to  Dr.  Bancroft.  The  Plague  con- 
tinues. The  Bishop  of  London  endea- 
vours to  recall  the  Pastors  who  had  left 
their  Churches 25 

Mr.  Bing  to  Dr.  Bancroft.  The  Sickness 
continues.  One  of  the  late  King's  Judges 
taken  prisoner,  but  rescued.  The  disaf- 
fected take  advantage  of  the  confusion  oc- 
casioned by  the  Plague 27 

J.  TiUison  to  Dr.  Bancroft.  The  Necessities 
of  the  Poor.  The  parish  of  St.  Giles 
Cripplegate  more  severely  visited  by  the 
Plague  than  any  other  in  London 30 

Mr.  TiUison  to  Dr.  Bancroft.  Further  par- 
ticulars of  the  violence  of  the  Plague ....     33 

J.  TiUison  to  Dr.  Bancroft.  The  great  de- 
solation of  the  City 35 

King  Charles  the  Second  to  the  Duke  of  Or- 
mond,  concerning  the  dismissal  of  Lord 
ChanceUor  Hyde 38 


CONTENTS. 


LETTER  PAGE 

cccxvii.      Dr.  George  Hickes  to   Dr.  Patrick.     The 

State  of  Affairs  in  Scotland 40 

cccxviii.      Dr.  Hickes  to  Dr.  Patrick  upon  the  same. .     45 
cccxix.       Dr.  Hickes  to  Dr.  Patrick.     Michell's  Trial     47 
cccxx.       Dr.  Hickes  to  Dr.  Patrick.     Michell's  Sen- 
tence and  Execution 52 

cccxxi.       Mr.  Henry  SaviU  to  his  uncle  Secretary 

Coventry 57 

cccxxii.      The  Duke  of  Monmouth  to  Sir  Robert  At- 

kyns,  A.  D.  1679 64 

cccxxiii.  Dr.  Zacheus  Isham  Dean  of  Christ  Church 
Oxford,  to  Dr.  Edmund  Borlase.  Ru- 
mours after  the  Dissolution  of  the  Parlia- 
ment at  Oxford 65 

c  c  cxxiv.  Sir  James  Dick,  Bart.  Lord  Provost  of  Edin- 
burgh, to  Mr.  EUies  at  London.  The 
Duke  of  York  shipwrecked  on  the  Sand- 
bank called  the  Lemon  and  Ore 67 

cccxxv.       Lady  Rachel  RusseU  to 73 

cccxxvi to  Mr.  Ellis,  Secretary  of 

the  Revenue  in  Ireland.     Hampden  said 
to  be  reprieved.      Some  of  the  Bishops 

falling  out  of  favour 83 

c  c  cxxvii.  The  same  to  the  same.  Hampden  reprieved. 
The  Bishop  of  London  in  disgrace.  A 
Pardon  granted  to  Roman  Catholic  Officers 
for  holding  their  commands  without  taking 

the  Test 85 

cccxxviii.  The  same  to  the  same.  The  Trial  and  Ac- 
quittal of  Lord  Delamere 86 

cccxxix.  Samuel  de  Paz  to  John  Ellis,  Esq.  Lord 
Delamere  has  an  audience  of  the  King. 
False  Reports  of  Quo  Warrantos  issued 
against  Cathedral  Churches.  Mrs.  Sedley 
to  be  Countess  of  Dorchester.  Sir  Henry 
Waldegrave  to  be  Baron  Waldegrave ...  88 
cccxxx to   Mr.   EUis.       Montague 


CONTENTS. 


Vll 


CCCXXXIII. 
CCCXXXIV. 

cccxxxv. 

CCCXXXVI. 

CCCXXXVII. 

CCCXXXVIII. 

CCCXXXIX. 


CCCXLI. 

CCCXLII. 

CCCXLIII. 


PAGE 

House  burnt.     Mr.  Harbord  ordered  to 
surrender 89 

The  same  to  the  same.  PubUc  News. 
Countess  of  Dorchester.     The  Princess 

Anne.     Pepys 90 

The  same  to  the  same.  Judges  and  Ser- 
jeants changed.     Disorders  in  London  on 

account  of  Popery 93 

The  same  to  the  same.  King  James  drinks 
the  Church  of  England  as  estabhshed  by 
Law.     The  Judgment  in  the  Case  of  Sir 

Edward  Hales ; . .     95 

The  same  to  the  same.  The  Appointment 
of  Lords  Commissioners  for  Ecclesiastical 

Jurisdiction 9g 

The  same  to  the  same.    Bishop  Compton 

called  before  the  Lords  Commissioners  . .     98 
The  same  to  the  same.     The  Duke  of  Or- 

mond.     Father  Peters.     Lord  Tyrconnel  100 
The  same  to  the  same.     The  Affliction  of 

the  Princess  of  Denmark loi 

The  same  to  the  same.     The  Birth  of  the 

Prince 102 

The  same  to  the  same.    D.  of  Monmouth's 

Chaplain  pardoned 103 

The  same  to  the  same.  King  James  at  the 
Camp  on  Hounslow  Heath.  Pannel  of 
the  Jury  at  the  Trial  of  the  Seven  Bishops. 

Various  lesser  News 104, 

The  same  to  the  same.   Trial  of  the  Bishops, 

who  are  brought  in  not  guilty 106 

The  same  to  the  same.     Disorders  of  the 

Populace  upon  the  Acquittal  of  the  Bishops  109 
Changes  in  the  Privy  Council,  &c.     The 
King  dines  at  the  Camp  twice  a  week. 
The  Prince   declared   Prince  of  ^Vales. 
Changes  in  Westminster  Hall no 


VIU 


CONTENTS. 


LETTER  ,  PAGE 

cccxLiv.       The  same  to  the  same.    Joy  at  Rome  upon 

the  birth  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  ...,,..   112 

cccxLv.  The  same  to  the  same.  The  Departure  of 
the  Court.  The  Prince  taught  by  the 
Marchioness  of  Powis  his  Governess  to 
present  a  Petition  to  the  King  for  in- 
creasing the  Number  of  Hackney  Coaches,  • 
the  revenue  arising  from  which  was  to  be 
appHed  to  the  maintenance  of  Foundling 
Children.  Circuits  of  the  Judges.  Ex- 
cesses of  the  Mob  at  Amsterdam  upon  the 
celebration  at  the  English  Consul's  on  the 
birth  of  the  Prince  of  Wales 114 

cccxLVi.  The  same  to  the  same.  A  Household  esta- 
blished for  the  Prince  of  Wales.  The  ac- 
quitted Bishops  hold  Catechizings  and 
Confirmations  in  their  respective  Bi- 
shopricks.  Their  example  followed  by 
the  Roman  Clergy  ...* 116 

cccxLvii.      The  same  to  the  same.     Falsity  of  a  Report 

concerning  Father  Peters 118 

cccxLviii.      The  same  to  the  same.  The  Prince  of  Wales 

indisposed.  The  Judges  and  their  Charges  119 

cccxLix.  The  same  to  the  same.  A  Wet-nurse  pro- 
vided for  the  Prince  of  Wales.    Death  of 

Henry  Carre.     Various  News 120 

cccL.  The  same  to  the  same..  The  Prince  of  Wales 
recovered.  His  Wet-nurse  has  a  Go- 
verness to  look  after  her 122 

cccLi.         The  same  to  the  same.  The  Queen  Dowager  123 
cccLii.        The  same  to  the  same.     Writs  to  be  issued 

for  the  Parliament ibid. 

cccLiii.  The  same  to  the  same.  Court  News.  Mr. 
Skelton  the  late  Envoy  at  Paris  committed 
to  the  Tower 124 

cccLiv.        The  same  to  the  same.     Mr.  Skelton.     The 

Mayor  of  Scarborough  tossed  in  a  Blanket  125 


CONTENTS. 


IX 


LETTER  PAGE 

cccLV.  The  same  to  the  same.  The  Mayor  and 
Aldermen  of  London  address  the  King 
and  Queen.  The  King's  Address  to  them 

respecting  the  Dutch  Fleet 126 

cccLvi.        The  same  to  the  same.  The  Prince  of  Orange 

reported  to  be  upon  the  point  of  embarking  127 

cccLvii.  The  same  to  the  same.  The  King's  Procla- 
mation concerning  the  intended  Invasion 
of  the  Dutch.  The  Dukes  of  Ormond  and 
Berwick  have  the  Garter.  Hearing  before 
the  CouncU  concerning  the  tossing  of  the 
Mayor  of  Scarborough  in  a  blanket ibid. 

cccLViii.      The  same  to  the  same.     The  Charter  of  the 

City  of  London  restored 129 

cccLix.  The  same  to  the  same.  Coffee  Houses  and 
other  Houses  which  dealt  in  News  sup- 
pressed      130 

cccLX.        The  same  to  the  same.     Description  of  the 

Dutch  Fleet.  Measures  taken  for  defence  ibid. 
cccLXi.        The  same  to  the  same.  The  Society  of  Mag- 
dalen College  Oxford  restored.  Imprison- 
ment of  Hubert  Bourke.  Various  news. .   132 

cccLXii.       The  same  to  the  same.     The  General  News 

of  the  day 135 

cccLXiii.      The  same  to  the  same.  The  Prince  of  Orange 

driven  back    137 

CCCLXI  V.  The  same  to  the  same.  The  Council  ordered 
to  wait  upon  the  Prince  and  Princess  of 
Denmark  with  the  depositions  concerning 
the  Birth  of  the  Prince  of  Wales.  The 
Prince  of  Orange's  Declaration  dispersed 
about  the  Town.  Reports  of  the  Dutch 
Fleet  138 

CCCLX V.       The  same  to  the  same.     The  Dutch  arrive 

upon  the  Coast  of  Devonshire 141 

c  c  c  LX V I .       The  same  to  the  same.  The  Prince  of  Orange 

at  Exeter   142 


S  CONTENTS. 

LETTER  PAGE 

cccLXvii.  The  same  to  the  same.  The  Prince  of  Orange 
still  at  Exeter.  The  general  state  of 
AflPairs 143 

cccLxviii.  The  same  to  the  same.  Lord  Lovelace  taken 
in  his  way  to  join  the  Prince  of  Orange. 
Dr.  Burnet  reads  the  Prince's  Declaration 
at  Exeter.    News  from  the  West 146 

cccLXix.       The  same  to  the  same 149 

cccLXX.        The  same  to  the  same.     General  News. . . .   150 

cccLXXi.  The  same  to  the  same.  Reports  and  In- 
formation of  the  Day 152 

cccLXxii.      The  same  to  the  same.  Continuation  of  News  154 

cccLXXiii.     The  same  to  the  same 157 

cccLXXiv to  John  EUis_,  Esq.  More 

News 159 

cccLxxv.       . to  Mr.   EUis.     Storms. 

The  Prince  of  Orange's  movements.  The 
Rising  in  Cheshire    161 

cccLXXvi.  The  same  to  the  same.  The  King  returns. 
The  Princess  Anne  withdraws  herself. 
General  News   164 

cccLxxvii.     The  Princess  Anne  to  the  Queen ;  apologizes 

for  absenting  herself 166 

cccLXxviii to  John  EUis^  Esq.     The 

Queen  and  Prince  gone  for  France.    The 
King   follows.     The   Prince   of  Orange  - 
generally  declared  for 167 

cccLxxix to    John    EUis,    Esq. 

The  Prince  of  Orange  invited  to  Town. 
Tumults  of  the  Mob.  The  Army  dis- 
banded. The  Prince  of  Orange's  Pro- 
posals. Lord  Chancellor  JefFerys  taken 
in  disguise 170 

cccLXXx to  John  Ellis,  Esq.  King 

James  returns  from  Feversham.  Arrival 
of  the  Queen  and  Prince  at  Ostend. 
Princess  Anne's  entry  into  Oxford 175 


CONTENTS, 


XI 


LETTER 
CCCLXXXI. 


CCCLXXXII. 


CCCLXXXIII. 


CCCLXXXIV. 
CCCLXXXV. 


CCCLXXXVI. 
CCCLXXXVII. 
CCCLXXXVIH. 

CCCLXXXIX. 


PAGE 

The  same  to  the  same.  King  James's  final 
retirement  from  Whitehall.  The  Prince 
of  Orange  at  St.  James's 179 

The  same  to  the  same.  King  James  ar- 
rives in  France 185 

The  Earl  of  Melfort  to  Mr.  Innes  from 
Rome.  The  Circulation  of  the  Gun  Money 
in  Ireland 186 

The  Earl  of  Melfort  to  Father  Maxwell ...   189 

The  Earl  of  Melfort  to  the  Queen  of  James 
lid.  Anxiety  for  the  confirmation  of  the 
News  that  the  Battle  of  the  Boyne  had 
been  gained  by  James.  His  Advice  as 
to  the  first  steps  to  be  taken  upon  EngUsh 
ground 190 

The  Earl  of  Melfort  to  the  Queen,  from 
Rome ;  still  in  suspense 198 

The  Earl  of  Melfort  to  King  James  the 
Second  from  Rome , 200 

The  Earl  of  Melfort  to  Mr.  Innes;  intro- 
duces an  Irish  priest  of  the  name  of  Rich- 
ard Molony 207 

Mr.  Theophilus  Harrison  to  the  Rev.  John 
Strype 209 

King  William  the  Third  to 

His    discontent    with    the    ParUament. 
Changes  proposed  for  Ireland 214 

Charles  Lyttelton  to  his  father  Sir  Charles 
Lyttelton  upon  the  conduct  of  Louis  the 
XlVth.  after  the  death  of  King  James 
the  Second 217 

Sir  George  Rooke  lo  Prince  George  of  Den- 
mark :  after  the  taking  of  the  Vigo  Gal- 
leons by  the  EngUsh  Fleet,  Oct.  12th,  1702  223 
Lord  Tarbat  to  Queen  Anne.     He  tenders 

his  Resignation  as  Secretary  for  Scotland  225 
The  Duke  of  Queensberry  to  Queen  Anne, 


Xll 


CONTENTS. 


LETTER  PAGE 

upon  the  debating  of  the  Act  of  Security 

in  the  Parliament  of  Scotland 227 

cccxcv.       The  Duke  of  Queensberry  to  Queen  Anne ; 

again  upon  the  Act  of  Security.     A  Plot 

to  overturn  the  Government  discovered.  .  230 

cccxcvi.      The  Duke  of  Queensberry  to  the  Queen, 

upon  the  Rising  of  the  Parliament.  Again 

upon  the  supposed  Plot 236 

cccxcvii.  Dr.  D'Avenant  to  his  Son,  after  the  News 
of  the  Battle  of  Hochstet,  otherwise  called 
the  Battle  of  Bleinheim,  had  arrived  in 

London 241 

cccxcviji.  Prince  George  of  Hanover,  afterwards  King 
George  II.,  to  Queen  Anne,  upon  his  re- 
ceiving the  Order  of  the  Garter 246 

cccxcix.  Prince  George  of  Hanover  to  Queen  Anne, 
upon  receiving  his  Patent  as  Duke  of 
Cambridge.      Comphmentary   upon    the 

Union  with  Scotland 247 

cccc.  Lord  Sunderland  to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle. 
Proposes  to  make  a  stand  in  ParUament, 
or  the  Prince  of  Wales  wiU  be  brought  in  249 
COCCI.  Lord  Sunderland  to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle. 
The  Resolution  of  certain  Peers  to  declare 
against  the  Court.  The  Removal  of 
Prince  George  of  Denmark  from  his 
Office  of  Lord  High  Admiral  projected  .  251 

ccccii.       Dr.  White  Kennett,  afterwards  Bishop  of 

Peterborough,  to 255 

cccciii.  The  Earl  of  Sunderland  to  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle.  The  Death  of  Prince  George 
of  Denmark.     Official  Changes 257 

COCCI V.       The  Duke  of  Marlborough  to 

The  dismal  aspect  of  affairs 259 

ccccv.  Robert  Harley,  Esq.  to  the  Elector  of  Han- 
over. His  devotion  to  the  Elector's  Per- 
son and  Serene  House 260 


CONTENTS, 


Xlll 


LETTKU 

CCCCVI. 

CCCCVII. 


CCCCX. 


CCCCXI. 
CCCCXII. 


CCCCXIV. 


ccccxv. 


CCCCXVI. 


CCCCXVIII. 


PAGE 

The  Elector's  Answer  to  Mr.  Harley 261 

Robert  Harley,  Esq.  to  the  Elector  of  Han- 
over, in  return  to  his  Highness's  Answer   262 

The  Duke  of  Buckingham  to  the  Elector  of 
Hanover.  Offers  his  humble  and  zeal- 
ous service 264 

Mr.  Harley,  now  Earl  of  Oxford,  to  the 
Elector  of  Hanover.  The  Queen's  care 
of  the  Elector's  interest 266 

The  Princess  Carohne,  afterwards  Queen 
of  England,  to  Queen  Anne 267 

Secretary  Bromley  to  the  Princess  Sophia. .  268 

The  Earl  of  Oxford  to  Baron  Wassenaar 
Duyvenworde.  Against  any  branch  of 
the  Elector's  Family  coming  over  with- 
out the  Queen's  consent 269 

Archbishop  Dawes  to  the  Princess  Sophia. 
The  zeal  of  himself  and  the  Clergy  for  the 
Protestant  succession 271 

Lord  Chancellor  Harcourt  to  Baron  Schutz. 
The  Writ  of  Summons  for  the  Duke  of 
Cambridge 272 

The  Earl  of  Oxford  to  the  Elector  of  Han- 
over, after  "  the  accident  respecting  the 
Writ". 273 

The  Elector  of  Hanover  to  Queen  Anne  an- 
nouncing the  loss  of  his  Mother 275 

The  Elector  of  Hanover  to  the  Lord  Trea- 
surer Oxford  upon  the  same 276 

The  Prince  Elector  to  Queen  Anne :  to  be 
restored  to  favour 277 

The  Elector  of  Hanover  to  the  Lord  Trea- 
surer Oxford,  upon  the  necessity  for  the 
presence  of  some  Prince  of  his  House  in 
England,  to  secure  the  Queen  and  her 
Dominions  against  the  designs  of  the 
Pretender , 278 


XIV 


CONTENTS. 


LETTER 
CCCCXX. 


CCCCXXITI. 


CCCCXXVI. 


ccccxxvn. 


CCCCXXVIII. 


CCCCXXIX. 

ccccxxx. 


CCCCXXXII. 


PAGE 

Dr.  White  Kennett,  afterwards  Bishop  of 
Peterborough,  to  Dr.  Samuel  Blackwell.  • 
King  George  the  First  expected  from  Han- 
over. The  Queen's  Interment  ordered. 
Divisions  of  Interest  upon,  and  Applica- 
tions for  Church  Preferment 285 

Archbishop  King  to  Archbishop  Wake.  The 
Prince  of  Wales,  afterwards  King  George 
lid.  chosen  Chancellor  of  the  University  of 

Dublin 289 

Archbishop  King  to  Archbishop  Wake,  after 
the  death  of  the  Archbishop  of  Tuara. 
State  of  the  Clergy  in  his  Diocese.  The 
"  Quarta  Pars  Episcopalis" 291 

Bishop  Kennett  to  Mr.  Samuel  Blackwell. 
The  King's  preparations  to  go  to  Hanover  298 

Dr.  White  Kennett  to  Mr.  Blackwell.  The 
Princess  of  Wales  has  a  severe  confine- 
ment   299 

Bishop  Kennett  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Blackwell. 
King  George  the  First's  intention  to  make 
a  Progress  to  Yorkshire.  Trials  of  the 
Rebels 301 

The  same  to  the  same.  The  Princess  re- 
covered    302 

Dr.  Kennett  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Blackwell.  The 
King  returned  from  Hanover 303 

Dr.  White  Kennett  to  Dr.  Blackwell.  Pro- 
ject of  Charles  Xllth.  of  Sweden  for  the 
Invasion  of  England.     The  Court  quiet    804 

The  same  to  the  same 306 

Dr.  Kennett  to  Mr.  Blackwell.  The  King 
of  Sweden  a  less  bugbear ib. 

Dr.  Kennett  to  Mr.  Blackwell.  Bangorian 
Controversy.     King  George  the  First . . .  307 

Dr.  Kennett  to  Mr.  Blackwell.  General 
News 308 


CONTENTS. 


XV 


LETTER 
CCCCXXXIII. 


CCCCXXXIV. 
CCCCXXXV. 


CCCCXXXVI. 


CCCCXXXVII. 


CCCCXXXVIII. 


CCCCXXXIX. 


CCCCXLII. 


ccccxmi. 


CCCCXLIV. 


CCCCXLV. 


CCCCXLVI. 


PAGE 

Dr.  Kennett  to  Mr.  Blackwell.  The  Princess 
near  her  confinement 309 

The  same  to  the  same ih. 

Dr.  Thomas  Tiidway  to  Mr.  Humphry 
Wanley,  Lord  Oxford's  Librarian.  Dr. 
Bentley's  behaviour  when  the  King  went 
to  Cambridge 311 

The  same  to  the  same.  Still  upon  Dr.  Bent- 
ley  312 

Archbishop  King  to  Archbishop  Wake.  The 
Differences  at  Court 315 

Archbishop  King  to  Archbishop  Wake.  Still 
upon  the  Court  differences 316 

Bishop  Nicolson  to  Archbishop  Wake :  de- 
tails his  Journey  to  take  possession  of  the 
See  of  Derry 317 

Jos.  Wilcocks  to  Bishop  Kennett,  from.  Han- 
over. An  Account  of  what  was  passing 
there  during  the  King's  Visit  in  1720  . . .  320 

Dr.  Nicolson,  Bishop  of  Derry,  to  Arch- 
bishop Wake.  The  effects  of  the  South 
Sea  Scheme  upon  Ireland SS* 

Dr.  King,  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  to  Arch- 
bishop Wake.     Still  upon  the  Affair  of  the 

South  Sea  Company 325 

The  Archbishop  of  Dublin  to  Archbishop 

Wake,  upon  the  same 327 

Dr.  King,  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  to  Arch- 
bishop Wake.  The  effect  of  the  South 
Sea  Failure  still  continues  in  Ireland ....  329 

Dr.  Nicolson,  Bishop  of  Derry,  to  Arch- 
bishop Wake.  The  new  Irish  Half- 
pence . . .  K ; 330 

Dr.  Nicolson,  Bishop  of  Derry,  to  Archbishop 
Wake.  Apprehension  of  losing  all  the 
Gold  and  Silver  in  Ireland  in  exchange 


XVI 


CONTENTS. 


CCCCXLVII. 


CCCCXLVIII. 


CCCCXLIX. 


CCCCLIII. 


PAGE 

for  Halfpence  and  Farthings.  Debates 
upon  it  in  the  Commons  of  that  King- 
dom    332 

The  same  to  the  same.  The  panic  in  Ire- 
land increases.  Dean  Swift  prints  his  Let- 
ters on  the  subject 333 

The  same  to  the  same.  Leagues  and  De- 
clarations among  the  Shopkeepers,  &c.  of 
Ireland,  against  Wood's  Halfpence 334 

The  same  to  the  same.  Further  Associations 
against  the  Currency  of  Wood's  Money     336 

The  same  to  the  same.  The  Address  of  the 
Irish  Parliament  upon  his  Majesty's  fa- 
vour in  the  matter  of  Wood's  Patent. . . .  338 

The  Duke  of  Wharton  to  Lady  Jane  Holt 
his  sister.  Endeavours  to  extenuate  his 
conduct 339 

Major  General  Moyle  to  the  Duke  of  New- 
castle, upon  the  Seizure  and  Execution  of 
Captain  Porteous  by  the  Mob  at  Edin- 
burgh    347 

Dr.  Edward  Chandler,  Bishop  of  Durham, 
apparently  to  the  Archdeacon  of  North- 
umberland. The  Rebels  approaching 
from  the  North.  The  spirit  of  the  dif- 
ferent Counties 351 

Duncan  Forbes  Lord  President  of  the  Court 
of  Session  in  Scotland,  to  Mr.  Mitchell. 
The  State  of  Edinburgh  after  the  Suc- 
cesses of  the  Rebels  there  and  at  Preston 
Pans 353 

Duncan  Forbes,  Lord  President,  to  Mr.  Mit- 
chell. Mr.  Gordon.  The  want  of  sup- 
plies wherewith  to  oppose  the  Rebels  . . .  357 

Andrew  Mitchell  Esq.  to  the  Earl  of  Hol- 
dernesse.  Collins,  the  courier  for  England, 


CONTENTS. 


XVll 


Z.ETTER  PAGE 

robbed  of  his  Despatches  at  the  Gate  of 
Berlin 367 

ccocLTii.  Mr-  Mitchell  to  the  Earl  of  Holdernesse. 
His  Interview  with  the  King  of  Prussia 
respecting  the  lost  Despatches 370 

ccccLviiL     Mr.  Mitchell  to  the  Earl  of  Holdemesse- 

The  discovery  of  the  Thief 372 

cccTLix-  Mr.  Mitchell  to  the  Earl  of  Holdernesse. 
The    Stealer    of    CoUins's    Portmantle 

brought  to  Berlin 376 

ccccLX.        Robert  Symmer,  Esq.  to  Mr,  Mitchell.  The 

Toulon  Squadron  sailed  for  Port  Mahon    373 
ccccLXi.       Mn  Symmer  to  Mr.  Mitchell.    The  unac- 
countable behaviour  xrf  the  English  Fleet  379 

ccccLxii.  Lord  Barrington  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  The 
arrival  of  Admiral  Byng's  Despatches, 
Hie  neglect  to  relieve  Pari  Mahott  after 
beating  the  French.  Reinforcements  sent 
out     The  Public  despond 381 

ccccLxm.  Mr.  Symmer  to  Mr.  Mitchdl.  The  con- 
tinuance of  Public  disappointment 386 

fCCCLXiv.  Mr.  Symmer  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  Port  Mahon 
lost.  The  Indignation  againpt  Admiral 
Byng's  conduct,  general 387 

ccccLXV.  The  Earl  of  Holdernesse  to  Andrew  Mit- 
chell, Esq.  A  Change  taking  place  in  the 
Administration 389 

ccecLKVi.  The  Earl  of  Holdernesse  to  Mr.  Mitchell, 
His  Lordship  at  the  head  of  the  Admini- 
stration   390 

ccccLKVii.      Mr.  Symmer  to  Mr.  Mitchell.     Admiral 

Byng  capitally  rom'icted 392 

ccccLxviii.   Mr.  Symmer  to  Mr.  MitcheH.    The  rigor 

of  Admiral  Byng's  Sentence 395 

jCCCCLXix,  Mr.  Symmer  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  The  Opinion 
of  the  Judges  tajcen  upon  Admiral  Byng'a 

Sentence 39? 

VJt)L.  IV.   SEB.  2.  h 


XVlll 


CONTENTS. 


LETTER 
CCCCLXX. 


CCCCLXXI. 


CCCCLKXII. 


CCCCLXXIII. 


CCCCLXXIV. 


CCCCLXXV. 


CCCCLXX  VI. 


CCCCLXXVII. 


CCCCLXXVIII. 


CCCCLXXIX. 


CCCCLXXX. 


CCCCLXXXI. 


PAGE 

Mr,  Symmer  to  Mr.  Mitchell,  A  Motion 
made  in  the  House  of  Commons  for  the 
mitigation  of  the  rigor  of  Admiral  Byng's 
Sentence.  The  Examination  of  the  Mem- 
bers of  his  Court  Martial  by  the  Lords. .  398 

Mr.  Symmer  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  Admiral 
Byng  has  but  three  days  to  live   40S 

The  Right  Hon.  William  Pitt,  afterwards 
Earl  of  Chatham,  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  Ex- 
presses his  attachment  to,  and  admiration 
of  the  King  of  Prussia 404- 

Mr.  Symmer  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  The  King 
and  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  have  the 
Gout  for  the  first  time 40^ 

Mr.  Pitt  to  Mr.  Mitchell,  The  King  of 
Prussia  intercedes  for  the  Pardon  of  the 
Lord  Marischal.  Mr.  Pitt's  veneration 
for  the  King  of  Prussia 407 

Lord  Holdernesse  to  Mr.  Mitchell,  upon  the 
Pardon  of  the  Lord  Marischal 410 

Mr.  Pitt  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  His  respect  and 
reverence  for  the  King  of  Prussia 411 

Mr.  Symmer  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  The  Ex- 
penses of  the  War.  Lord  George  Sack- 
ville  disgraced 413 

Mr.  Symmer  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  The  death 
of  General  Wolf 414 

Lord  Barrington  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  The 
Union  between  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  and 
Mr.  Pitt  4U 

Mr.  Mitchell  to  the  Earl  of  Holdernesse. 
The  Court  of  France  uses  the  pen  of 
Voltaire  to  draw  Secrets  from  the  King  of 
Prussia.  The  King  of  Prussia's  character 
of  Voltaire 417 

The  Right  Hon.  William  Pitt  to  Mr.  Mit- 


CONTEKTS. 


XIX 


LETTER 
CCCCLXXXII. 

CCCCLXXXm. 

CCCCLXXXIV. 
CCCCLXXXV, 

CCCCLXXXVI. 

ccccr.xxxvii. 

CCCCLXXXVIII. 
CCCCLXXXIX. 


CCCCXCII. 
CCCCXCIII. 

ccccxcxv. 


PAGE 

chelh  Expresses  his  joy  at  the  King  of 
Prussia's  Successes   420 

J.  Wright,  Under  Secretary  of  State,  to  Sir 
Andrew  Mitchell.  The  Reports  upon 
King  George  the  Second's  Will 422 

General  Yorke  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell.  The 
opening  of  the  Reign  of  George  the  Third  425 

Lord  Barrington  to  Andrew  Mitchell,  Esq. . .  430 

Lord  Barrington  to  Andrew  Mitchell,  Esq. 
The  Administration  settled 432 

Colonel  Grseme  to  Mr.  Mitchell,  upon  Lord 
Harcourt's  Journey  to  demand  the  hand 
of  the  Princess  of  Mechlenburg  Strelitz . .  434 

•Colonel  Grteme  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  Prepara- 
tions for  the  Princess's  Journey 437 

The  Earl  of  Harcourt  from  the  Court  of 
Strelitz,  to  Mr.  Mitchell  at  Magdeburg. 
Preparations  for  bringing  the  Princess, 
afterwards  Queen  Charlotte,  to  England    438 

Lord  Barrington  to  Andrew  Mitchell,  Esq. 
Mr.  Pitt's  Resignation  of  the  Seals 441 

Lord  Barrington  to  Andrew  Mitchell,  Esq. 
Lady  Hester  Pitt  created  a  Peeress.  Mr. 
Pitt  receives  a  Pension.  Ministerial 
changes 4  i4 

Lord  Barrington  to  Andrew  Mitchell,  Esq. 
New  Administration  under  Lord  Bute. 
The  Duke  of  Newcastle's  Audience  from 
the  King  upon  his  Resignation   445 

Mr.  Symmers  to  Andrew  Mitchell,  Esq. 
The  Birth  of  the  Prince  of  Walea 447 

The  King  of  Prussia  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell, 
upon  the  taking  of  the  Havannah 448 

Mr.  Symmer  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell.  The 
Preliminaries  of  the  Peace  of  1762  arrive 
ratified : .  U9 


XX 


c6i<tEi^t»: 


LETTER 

ccecxcv. 


CCGCXCVI. 


CCCCXCVII. 


CCCCXCVIII. 


CCCCXCIX. 


to. 


s>iu. 


i)vt. 


PAGE 

Mr.  Symmer  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell.  The 
state  of  Parties.  The  Duke  of  Newcastle's 
sacrifice  of  Emolument.  A  Victory  gained 
by  Admiral  Keppel 452 

Lord  Barrington  to  Andrew  Mitchell,  Esq. 
Still  on  the  State  of  Parties  in  the  Debate 
upon  the  Peace  . .  < 455 

Lord  Barrington-  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  The 
subject  of  the  Peace  continued 458 

Frederick  the  Great  of  Prussia  to  Sir  An- 
drew Mitchell,  upon  his  receiving  a  Copy 
of  the  Treaty  of  Peace  of  1763 460 

Lord  Barrington  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  Lord 
Bute's  retirement  from  Office.  He  details 
the  Changes  of  the  Administration  which 
were  to  take  place  the  next  day 461 

Lord  Barrington  to  Mr.  Mitchell;  upon  the 
further  Changes  of  Administration 463 

Lord  Barrington  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  The 
Affair  of  "a  worthless  man  named  Wilks'  464 

Lord  Barrington  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  The 
Death  of  Lord  Egremont 465 

Lord  Barrington  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell. 
Mr.  Pitt's  unreasonable  tertitis.  His  failure 
in  negociation  for  Office 466 

Mr.  Erskine  to  Andrew  Mitchell,  Esq.  De- 
tails explanatory  of  the  preceding  Letter    467 

Lord  Barrington  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  The 
King's  Message  on  the  subject  of  Wilks. 
Mr.  Pitt's  Speech  upon  the  Address  in 
consequence.     The  Duke  of  Newcastle . .  472 

Lord  Barrington  to  Andrew  Mitchell,  Esq. 
General  News 475 

Lord  Barrington  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  Wilks 
and  the  North  Briton,  No.  45 476 

Lord  Barrington  to  Mr.  Mitchell.     Michel, 


CONTENTS. 


XXI 


LtTTEH 


2>lXi 


SX. 


DXI. 


SXII. 


DXIII. 


DXIV, 


DXT. 


VXVl. 


X>XVII. 


SXVIII. 


DXIX. 


FAOE 

the  Prussian  Minister  in  England,  re- 
called     479 

Mr.  Stuart  Mackenzie  to  Sir  Andrew 
Mitchell :  upon  his  removal  from  the 
Privy  Seal  of  Scotland 480 

The  Rev.  William  Cole  to  Mr.  Alban  Butler, 
President  of  the  English  College  at  St. 
Omers.  The  State  of  Society  in  France. 
Rousseau  in  England 483 

Mr.  Alban  Butler  to  the  Rev.  William  Cole, 
from  St.  Omers,  in  answer 488 

Lord  Barrington  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell. 
A  fresh  Change  in  Administration.  Mr. 
Stuart  Mackenzie  has  the  Privy  Seal 
again 491 

General  Conway  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell. 
His  Majesty's  Proposition  to  form  a 
System  in  the  North  which  may  counter- 
balance the  Family  Compact 492 

The  Earl  of  Chatham  to  Sir  Andrew 
Mitchell;  on  the  proposed  Confederacy 
of  the  North 495 

Sir  Andrew  Mitchell  to  the  Earl  of  Cha- 
tham. He  details  the  substance  of  a 
Conference  with  the  King  of  Prussia  . . .  498 

General  Conway  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell; 
upon  the  coldness  with  which  the  King 
of  Prussia  received  the  Proposal  for  a 
Northern  Confederation 500 

Sir  Andrew  Mitchell  to  the  Earl  of  Chatham. 
Relates  a  private  Conversation  with  the 
King  of  Prussia « 503 

Mr.  Wroughton  to  Mr.  Mitchell  from  Po- 
land.    A  Mistake  about  a  Cypher 506 

General  Conway  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell. 
The  King  receives  a  Letter  by  the  Post 


xxu 


CONTENTS, 


DXXIII. 


DXXV. 


ETTEll  1AG£" 

from  an  English  Sailor.     His  Majesty's 

Orders  upon  it .- 507 

i)xx.  James  Richardson,  an  English  Sailor,  forcibly 
detained  in  the  King  of  Prussia's  ser- 
vice, to  his  Majesty  King  George  Hid.. .  509 
Bxxi.  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell  to  Lord  Rochford.  The 
King  of  Prussia  still  insensible  to  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  proposed  Confederacy. . .  513 
axxii.  Lord  Rochford  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell.  The 
Expulsion  of  Mr.  Wilks  from  the  House 

of  Commons « 515 

Sir  Andrew  Mitchell  to  Lord  Cathcart  at 
St.  Petersburgh.  Baron  Dimsdale's  re- 
ception at  Potsdam 516 

Sir  Andrew   Mitchell   to   Lord  Rochford. 

Count  Kamcke  fond  of  Agriculture 518 

Lord  Rochford  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell.  A 
Contest  at  the  Ball  at  Court  for  pre- 
cedence, between  the  French  and  Russian 

Ambassadors 519 

Dxxvi.  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell  to  Lord  Rochford.  The 
King  of  Prussia's  approbation  of  General 

Paoii's  conduct 522 

Dxxvii.  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell  to  Lord  Rochford. 
His  detail  of  a  Conversation  with  the 

King  of  Prussia 523 

toxxviir.  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell  to  Lord  Rochford. 
The  King  of  Prussia's  "  Dialogue  de 
Morale."     His  Majesty  takes  Medicines 

of  his  own  prescription 526 

Dxxix.  Lord  Barrington  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell. 
The  Entry  of  Lord  North  into  Admini- 
stration     529 

i)xxx.  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell  to  Lord  Rochford. 
The  French  advise  the  Pretender  to  go  to 
the  English  Colonics 520 


XJOXTEXTS. 


xxm 


J^ETTEfl 
DXXXI. 


PXXXII. 


pxxxiv. 
pxxxv. 

pxxxvi . 

DXXXVII. 
DXXXVIII. 


PAGE 

Lord  Barrington  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell. 
The  general  state  of  Affairs.  Wilks  and 
the  Bill  of  Rights  forgotten 529 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Lort  to  Mr.  Cole.  Lord  Cha- 
tham has  a  Fit  in  the  House  of  Lords  . .  531 

Mrs.  Bristow  to  General  ^Vashington,  re- 
specting a  Memorial  in  favour  of  her  Son, 
aa  infant,  whose  hereditary  estates  in 
America  had  been  confiscated ib. 

General  ^Fashington  to  Mrs.  Bristow  in 
return 533 

General  Washington  to  Mrs.  Bristow.  The 
final  Answer  upon  the  decision  made  by 
the  Assembly  of  Virginia 535 

The  Right  Hon.  Edmund  Burke  to  John 
Wilmot,  Esq.  on  the  Subscriptions  raised 
for  the  Relief  of  the  French  Emigrant 
Clergy 536 

The  Right  Hon.  Edm.  Burke  to  John  Wil- 
mot;  Esq. 540 

-Mr.  Burke  to  John  AVilmot,  Esq 542 


LETTERS 


THE  REIGN  OF 


CHARLES    THE    SECOND. 


VOL.  IV.    SER.  2. 


Few  Letters  are  here  given  of  the  Reign  of  CHARLES  the  SECOND : 
but  those  few  will  be  found  important.  They  chiefly  concern  the  re-ad- 
mission of  the  Jews  amongst  us  as  a  People ;  the  Ravage  of  the  Plague 
of  1065 ;  and  the  Conduct  of  the  Scotish  Covenanters. 

In  the  former  Series  the  King's  Protestant  death  was  recorded.  In 
this,  Father  Hudleston's  Relation  is  preserved  of  the  administering  the 
last  rites  to  him  of  the  Romish  Church. 

Among  the  King's  Pamphlets  in  the  Museum,  there  is  a  Tract  con- 
sisting of  two  Letters  of  King  Charles  the  Second  when  Prince,  one  to 
his  Sister,  the  other  to  his  brother-in-law  the  Prince  of  Orange,  printed 
in  1642.  There  can  be  no  reason  for  doubting  their  authenticity.  They 
were  probably  printed  to  set  off  the  Prince,  who  was  then  not  twelve  years 
old.     The  Letter  to  his  Sister  is  here  given. 

"  To  the  hands  of  the  Lady  Marie,  Princesse  of  Aurania,  these  present. 
"  Most  Royal  Sister, 

"  Methinks,  although  I  cannot  enjoy  that  former  happiness  which  I 
was  wont  in  the  fruition  of  your  society,  being  barred  those  joys  by  the 
parting  waves ;  yet  I  cannot  forget  the  kindness  I  owe  unto  so  dear  a 
sister  as  not  to  write,  also  expecting  the  like  salutation  from  you,  that 
thereby  (although  a  while  dissevered)  we  may  reciprocally  understand  of 
each  other's  welfare.  J  could  heartily,  and  with  a  fervent  devotion,  wish 
your  return,  were  it  not  to  lessen  your  delights  in  your  loyal  spouse  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  who  as  I  conceived  by  his  last  Letter,  was  as  joyful 
for  your  presence,  as  we  sad  and  mourning  for  your  absence. 

"  My  Father  is  very  much  disconsolate  and  troubled,  partly  for  my 
Royal  mother's  and  your  absence,  and  partly  for  the  disturbances  of  this 
Kingdom.  I  could  wish  and  daily  pray  that  there  might  be  a  conjunct 
and  perfect  uniting  between  my  Father's  Majesty  and  his  Parliament, 
that  there  might  be  a  perfect  concordance  with  them  in  the  subject,  to  the 
removal  of  the  grievances  of  the  Country,  and  the  renewing  of  our  de- 
cayed joys.  For  during  the  variance  betwixt  them,  this  Kingdom  must 
of  necessity  lie  under  most  palpable  danger  through  fear  of  foreign  or 
domestic  enemies,  they  having  now  the  lamps  of  the  all  discerning  Par- 
liament darkened,  through  the  inconvenience  of  the  many  combustions  ' 
now  on  foot 

"  As  for  the  Militia  of  the  Kingdom,  it  is  not  yet  determined  upon 
nor  settled ;  which  of  itself  is  one  of  the  principal  fortitudes  wherewith 
this  Kingdom  is  adorned. 

"  Ireland  was  never  in  more  danger  than  now  of  late,  there  being  many 
Towns  in  the  Province  of  Asper  taken  by  the  rebels ;  others  indangered. 
But  the  last  intelligence  presented  us  with  better  news,  wherein  we  un- 
derstand of  a  fatal  overthrow  given  the  rebel's  party,  to  their  loss  of  ten 
thousand  men;  wherein  O'Neal  was  supposed  to  be  taken  prisoner, 
Colonel  Brunslow  and  divers  other  of  their  Officers  likewise  following 
him  in  his  sad  misfortune. 

"  Dear  Sister,  we  are,  as  much  as  we  may,  merry ;  and,  more  than  we 
would,  sad,  in  respect  we  cannot  alter  the  present  distempers  of  these 
turbulent  times. 

"  JMy  Father's  resolution  is  now  for  York ;  where  he  intends  to  reside 
to  see  the  event  or  sequel  to  these  bad  inprospitious  beginnings ;  whither 
you  may  direct  your  Letter.  Thus  much  desiring  your  comfortable 
answer  to  these  my  sad  Lines,  I  rest 

Royston,  March  9,  Your  loving  Brother, 

J 642.  Carol.  Princcps.^^ 


OKIGINAL  LETTERS, 


ETC. 


LETTER  CCCIX. 


Mr.  Jo.  Greenhalgh  to  his  friend  Mr.  Thomas  Cromp- 
ton.  A  Visit  to  ike  Jewish  Synagogue  established 
in  London. 

[MS.  LANSD.  988.  fol.  184b.] 

*^*  The  exact  time  when  the  Jews  were  suffered  to  return  to  England, 
as  a  People,  has  been  disputed. 

Burnet  expressly  says,  that  a  company  of  Jews  was  brought  over  into 
England  by  Oliver  Cromwell,  and  that  he  gave  them  leave  to  build  a  Syna- 
gogue. *  Tovey,  in  his  Anglia  Judaica,  denies  this,  and  states  upon  the 
authority  of  the  Rabbi  Netto,  who,  in  his  time,  was  the  Governor  of  the 
S}mag(^ue,  that  even  so  late  as  1663  the  whole  number  of  the  Jews  in 
London  did  not  exceed  twelve.  He  expressly  adds  that  King  Charles 
the  Second  was  their  Introducer. 

The  Letter  here  given  to  the  reader  lends  its  assistance  to  clear  this 
dispute. 

It  certainly  shows  that  in  1 662  the  Jews  were  existing  in  liondon, 
with  a  Synagogue  built  after  the  fashion  of  their  own  worship ;  that  the 
congregation  which  the  writer  saw  assembled,  consisted  of  a  hundred 
Jews  besides  women ;  that  they  were  not  people  who  appeared  as  strag- 

>  Hist,  of  his  own  Time,  vol.  i.  p.  Tl. 

b2 


4  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

alms  sojourners,  but  gentlemen  and  merchants,  rich  in  apparel  even  to 
The  wearing  of  jewels,  and  that  they  had  not  one  mechanicperson  amongst 
them.  It  expressly  states  that  in  Oliver's  time  the  Jews  had  celebrated 
the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  in  booths,  upon  the  southern  side  ot  the 
Thames;  and  has  a  direct  reference  to  their  withdrawing  themselves  as 
much  as  possible  from  pubUc  notice  upon  the  Restoration  of  King  Charles 
the  Second,  evidently  from  the  circumstance  that  the  Act  for  their  exile 
had  never  been  formally  repealed. 

The  evidence  of  this  Letter  too  is  to  a  certain  extent  corroborated  by 
two  entries  upon  the  Journals  of  the  House  of  Commons ;  one,  m  1660, 
representing  the  Jews  as  a  people  existing  amongst  us  without  protection ; 
the  other,  in  1670,  ordering  an  Inquiry  to  be  made  upon  what  terms  they 
were  permitted  to  reside  in  England. 

It  is  evident  then  that  Cromwell  brought  them  back. 
"  Monday,  17'"  Dec.  1660.     M'.  HoUis  represents  to  this  House  an 
Order  made  by  the  Lords  of  H.  Majesty's  Privy  Council,  and  specially 
recommended  to  this  House  for  their  Advice  therein,  touching  Protection 
for  the  Jews :  which  was  read. 

"  Ordered,  that  this  business  be  taken  into  consideration  tomorrow 
morning."     Joum.  H.  Com.  vol.  viii.  p.  209. 

«  Lunse  6  die  Feb.  1670.  Ordered,  that  a  Committee  be  appomted, 
to  inquire  into  the  Causes  of  the  Growth  of  Popery ;  to  prepare  and  brmg 
in  a  Bill  to  prevent;  and  also  to  inquire  touching  the  Number  of  the 
Jews  and  their  Synagogues,  and  upon  what  terms  they  are  permitted  to 
have  their  residence  here;  and  report  it,  with  their  opmions,  to  the 
House."     Ibid.  vol.  ix.  p.  198. 

But  we  have  evidence  which  is  still  closer  to  the  point. 
Thomas  Violet,  a  goldsmith  of  London,  in  a  Petition  to  the  Kmg  and 
Parliament  dated  December  the  18'\  1660,  which  was  printed  m  1661, 

settles  the  question.  .    ,     »  ,r  i,  u  „ 

Cromwell,  it  will  be  remembered,  after  the  arrival  of  Menasseh  Ben 
Israel  in  England,  summoned  by  his  Letters  the  two  Lords  Chief  Jus- 
tices  and  the  Lord  Chief  Baron,  seven  Citizens  of  London  (mcludmg  the 
Lord  Mayor  and  Sheriffs)  and  fourteen  of  the  most  noted  Preachers,  to 
attend  him  at  WhitehaU  Dec.  4'\  1655,  there  to  debate  two  questions 
before  him  and  his  Council;  first  whether  it  were  lawful,  at  aU,  to  re- 
admit  the  Jews;  secondly  (if  it  should  be  thought  lawful)  upon  what 
terms  to  admit  them.  Hugh  Peters,  with  some  other  divines,  were  after- 
wards  added  to  the  number  of  the  debaters. 

The  Lawyers  were  not  against  their  return ;  and  the  citizens  were  some- 
what indifferent,  but  the  preachers  assailed  each  other  furiously  with  texts 
of  Scripture,  and  spent  so  much  time  in  turning  over  then:  bibles  for 
proofs  that  they  passed  four  days  in  the  discussion;  till  one  of  them 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  O 

having  concluded  a  senseless  Argument  with  a  Prayer,  whicii  he  said 
was  conceived  by  the  godly  Beza,  dromwell  grew  tired,  and  told  them 
with  some  warmth,  that  they  did  not  answer  his  expectations.  "  He 
hoped,  he  said,  to  have  had  some  clearing  of  the  Case,  as  to  his  Con- 
science ;  but  instead  of  that,  they  had  made  the  matter  more  doubtful 
to  him  and  his  Council  than  it  was  before :  wherefore  that  he  might  do 
nothing  rashly,  he  desired  no  more  from  them  than  the  assistance  of  their 
prayers  that  the  Lord  would  be  pleased  so  to  direct  him  as  he  might  do 
every  thing  for  His  Glory,  and  the  good  of  the  Nation ;  and  thereupon 
dismissed  the  Assembly."  • 


•  The  following  official  notice  of  this  Conference  In  the  Mercurius  Politicus  from 
Dec.  aott".  to  Dec.  2T">.  1655,  is  worth  perusal. 

Whitehall,  Deccmb.  18.  The  Conference  concerning  the  Proposals  about  the  ad- 
mission of  the  Jewes  ended  without  any  further  adjournment.  The  Proposals  are 
as  followeth ; 

A  Translate  of  the  Proposals  of  Manasseth  Ben  Israel,  &c.  These  are  the  Graces 
and  Favours  which  in  the  name  of  my  Hebrew  Nation,  I  Manasseth  Ben  Israel  do 
request  of  your  most  serene  Highness,  whom  God  make  prosjierous,  and  give  happy 
success  to  in  all  your  Enterprises,  as  your  humble  Servant  cloth  wish  and  desire. 

1.  The  first  thing  which  I  desire  of  your  Highness,  is,  that  our  Hebrew  Nation 
may  Ix:  received  and  admitted  into  this  puissant  Commonwealth,  under  the  protec- 
tion and  safeguard  of  your  Highness,  even  as  the  natives  themselves.  And  for 
greater  security  in  time  to  come,  I  doe  supplicate  your  Highness  to  cause  an  Oath  to 
be  given  (if  you  shall  think  it  fit)  to  all  the  heads  and  generals  of  Arms  to  defend  us 
upon  all  occasions. 

2.  That  it  will  please  your  Highness  to  allow  us  publicke  Synagogues,  not  only  in 
England,  but  also  in  all  other  places  under  the  power  of  your  Highness;  and  to  ob- 
serve in  all  things  our  Religion  as  we  ought. 

3.  That  we  may  have  a  place  or  Cemiteric,  out  of  the  Town  to  interr  our  dead, 
without  being  troubled  by  any. 

4.  That  we  may  bee  permitted  to  trafflck  freely  in  all  sorts  of  merchandise,  as 
others. 

6.  That  (to  the  end  those  who  shall  come  may  be  for  the  utility  of  the  people  of 
this  Nation,  and  may  live  without  bringing  prejudice  to  any,  and  not  give  offence) 
your  most  serene  Highness  will  make  choice  of  a  person  of  quality,  to  Inform  him- 
self of,  and  receive  the  Passports  of  those  who  shall  come  in,  who  upon  their  arrivall 
shall  certifie  him  thereof,  and  oblige  themselves  by  oath  to  maintain  fealty  to  your 
Highness  in  this  Land. 

6.  And  (to  the  intent  they  may  not  be  troublesome  to  the  Judges  of  the  Land, 
touching  the  contests  and  differences  that  may  arise  betwixt  those  of  our  Nation)  that 
your  most  serene  Highness  will  give  license  to  the  head  of  the  Synagogue  to  take 
with  him  two  Almoners  of  his  Nation,  to  accord  and  determine  all  thediflTerenccsand 
process,  conformable  to  the  Mosaick  Law,  with  liberty  nevertheless  to  appeal  from 
their  sentence  to  the  civil  Judges;  the  sum  wherein  the  patties  shall  be  condemned 
being  first  deposited. 

T.  That  in  case  there  have  been  any  Laws  against  our  Jewish  Nation,  they  may  in 
the  first  place  and  before  all  things  be  revoked,  to  the  end  that  by  this  means  we 
may  remain  with  the  greater  security  under  the  safeguard  and  protection  of  your 
most  serene  Highness. 

Which  things  your  most  serene  Highness  grantmg  to  us,  we  shall  always  remain 
most  afTectionately  obliged  to  pray  to  God  for  the  pra-ipeiity  of  your  Highness,  and 


b  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

Violet  expressly  states  in  his  Petition  that,  after  this  Debate,  Crom- 
well and  his  Council  gave  a  Dispensation  to  a  number  of  Jews  to 
settle  in  London,  that  they  were  suffered  to  exercise  their  religion,  that 
they  were  in  reality  invited  in  by  Thurloe  and  protected  by  Cromwell, 
and  that  the  greater  part  (answering  to  the  description  of  the  persons 
mentioned  in  the  present  Letter)  were  "  Portugals  or  Spaniards"  by 
birth. 

This  fixes  the  time  of  the  Re-admission  of  the  Jews  to  the  opening  of 
the  year  1656. 

Violet  further  states  that  it  was  Cromwell's  intention  to  have  made 
them  farmers  of  the  Customs  and  Excise,  and  to  have  given  them 
naturalization. 

At  the  very  moment  when  Cromwell's  Conference  was  held,  the  war 
between  the  Swedes  and  the  Poles  had  driven  a  large  number  of  the  Jews 
who  were  resident  at  Cracow,  to  Hamburgh :  and  the  circumstance  of  a 
temporal  Prince  arising  who  was  inclined  to  encourage  their  settlement 
in  his  country,  appears  to  have  attracted  their  most  serious  attention. 

Raguenet,  in  his  History  of  Cromwell's  life,  details  the  particulars  of 
a  very  extraordinary  fact ;  that,  much  about  the  time  of  Menasseh's  coming 
into  England,  the  Asiatic  Jews  sent  hither  also  the  Rabbi  Jacob  Ben 
Azahel  with  several  others  of  his  nation  to  make  private  inquiry  whether 
Cromwell  was  not  that  Messiah  whom  they  had  long  expected ;  and  that 
under  pretence  of  viewing  the  Hebrew  Books  and  Manuscripts  belonging 
to  the  University  of  Cambridge,  they  took  the  opportunity  to  ascertain 
amongst  Cromwell's  relations  at  Huntingdon  whether  any  of  his  ances- 
tors were  of  Jewish  origin.  The  real  object  of  their  errand  becoming 
known,  and  being  unlikely  to  suit  the  Saints  of  the  day,  Cromwell  is 
said  to  have  dismissed  them  hastily.  The  whole  passage  from  Raguenet's 
History  will  be  found  in  the  Note  below.* 


of  your  illustrious  and  most  sage  Council,  that  it  will  please  him  to  give  happy  suc- 
cess to  all  the  Undertaking  of  your  most  serene  Highness.    Amen. 

"  An  Advbrtisement. 

The  Reader  is  to  take  notice.  That  his  Highness  at  severall  Meetings,  fully  heard 
the  Opinions  of  the  Ministers  touching  the  said  Proposals,  expressing  himself  there- 
upon with  indifferency  and  moderation,  as  one  that  desired  only  to  obtain  satisfaction 
in  a  matter  of  so  high  and  religious  a  concernment,  there  being  many  glorious  pro- 
mises recorded  in  the  holy  Scripture  concerning  the  calling  and  conversion  of  the 
Jews  to  the  Faith  of  Christ.  But  nothing  at  all  hath  been  concluded  as  to  their 
admission ;  his  Highness  proceeding  in  this,  as  in  all  other  Affairs,  with  good  advice, 
and  mature  deliberation."    Merc.  Polit.  Dec.  20  to  Dec.  27. 1655. 

•  "  Enfin  sa reputation  s'accrut  de  telle  sorte,  que  les  Juifs  qui  ^toient  en  Asie ayant 
appris  toutes  les  grandes  choses  qu'on  disoit  de  lui,  par  la  voix  de  la  Renomm^  qui 
les  grossissoit  totijours  de  plus  en  plus  k  proportion  qu'elle  les  portoit  plus  loin,  r^so- 
lurent  d'cnvoyer  quelqu'uns  des  leurs  en  Angleterre,  pour  s'informer  si  il  n'^toit  point 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  * 

Whatever  Cromwell's  ultimate  intentions  may  liave  been  in  favor  of 
the  Jews,  they  were  frustrated  by  his  death.  To  say  nothing  of  ancient 
prejudice,  he  had  mercantile  jealousy  to  contend  with ;  and  the  sort  of 
Return  to  which  the  Jews  had  submitted,  having  made  them  available  for 
the  purposes  of  his  policy,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  Cromwell  would  have 
done  nothing  more  to  serve  them. 

le  Lib^rateur  qu'ils  attendoient,  et  qu'ils  ont  to&jourg  cru  trouver  dans  tous  les  Capi- 
taines  extraordinaires  qui  ont  paru  au  Monde  depuis  leur  dixpersion. 

"  lis  choisircnt,  pour  cette  Commission,  le  c616bre  Jacob Ben-Azahel  qui  eut  ordre 
de  prendre  avec  lui,  en  passant  par  la  Boh^me,  David  Ben  El(^azar  Rabin  deleur 
Synagogue  de  Prague  qui  savoit  toutes  les  langues  de  I'Europe  en  perfection,  et  le 
Rabi  ManassiBen  Israel  d'Amsterdam  qui  leur  devoit  servir  de  eonducteur. 

"  Lors  qu'ils  furent  arrivez  k  Londres,  pour  cacher  le  veritable  sujet  de  leur  voy- 
age, ils  ue  moutr^rent  d'abord  qu'une  Lettre  de  Cr6ance  touchant  I'^tablissement  d'un 
Bureau  pour  le  Commerce'  du  Levant  dont  ils  faiaoient  esp^rer  de  grands  avantages 
aux  Anglois ;  la  Chambre  des  Directeurs  du  N^goce  les  re^eut  avec  joye,  et  leurs 
propositions  y  furent  tr£s-fav6rablement  6cout6es ;  mais  comme  on  ne  pouvoit  les 
recevoir  sans  introduire  una  nouvelle  sorte  de  Religion  dans  la  R^publique,  on  Ics 
renvoya  i  Ctomwel  qui  avoit  seul  I'autorit^  de  le  falre  en  quality  de  Protecteur. 

"  Cromwel  leur  fit,  de  m6nie,  un  tr^s-bon  accu^il  en  consideration  du  Commerce 
qui  pouvoit  devcnir  plus  florissant  en  Angleterre  par  leur  moyen.  II  leur  accorda 
mSme  une  Audience  seciette  qu'ils  lui  demand^rent,  dans  laquelle  ces  deux  Juifs  lui 
ayant  t6moign6  combien  ils  estimoient  la  fameusc  Bib!iotli6que  du  Collie  de  Cam- 
bridge, Cromwel  qui  tie  pouvoit  pardonner  ji  celte  University  le  zdle  qu'elle  avoit  fait 
parottre  jwur  le  feu  Roy,  promit*  i  ces  Strangers  de  leur  en  vendre  tous  les  Manu- 
scrits  avec  les  autres  volumes  qu'ils  trouveroient  les  plus  rares. 

"Ils  all^rent  done,  encore  une  fois,  pour  revoir  les  Livres  et  prendre  un  mdmoirc  de 
leur  nombre,  et  de  leur  quality,  ce  qu'ils  firent  en  pi^sence  des  Bibliothtoiires  qui  les 
leur  montroient,  et  qui  crurent  qu'ils  n'avoient  point  d'autre  dessein  en  cela  que  de 
satisfaire  leur  curiosity,  comme  ils  le  t^moignoient.  Mais  au  lieu  de  revenir  droit  i 
Londres,  ils  prirent  occasion  de  ce  petit  voyage  pour  se  trans)>orteT,  suivant  le  prin- 
cipal dessein  de  leur  commission,  dans  la  Province  de  Huntington  d'oil  les  parens  de 
('romwel  ^toient  originaires,  afin  de  s'informer  de  sa  Naissance,  et  apprendrc  de  ccux 
qui  pouvoient  le  mieux  connoUre  sa  G^n^logie,  s'll  ne  se  trouvolt  point  quelc)u'un 
parmi  ses  Ancestres  qui  tiit  sorti  du  sang  des  H^breux. 

"  Quelques  pr^autions  qu'ils  prissent  pour  rendre  secrette  cette  recherche  in- 
sens^e,  ils  ne  parent  si-bien  faire  qu'elle  ne  fCit  dtcouverte ;  la  nouvelle  s'en  publia 
aussi-tdt  dans  Londres  oil  Ton  en  fit  des  railleries  piquantes  contre  le  Protecteur  t|ui 
en  conceut  un  ressentiment  si  vif,  que  non  seulement  il  refusa  i  ces  malheureux  Juifli 
la  liberty  du  Trafic,  et  le  traits  de  la  Bibliothcque  <Ui  ColJdge  de  Cambridge  qu'il 
leur  avoit  fait  esp^rer,  mais  de  plus  il  leur  d<5elara  avec  beaucoup  de  chaleur,  dans 
une  Audience  qu'il  rendit  expr^s  tr^s-solennellc,  (|ue  la  Rdpubli<|ue  et  lui  faisoient 
profession  d'adorer  un  Dieu  crucifix ;  et  qu'ils  ne  vouloient  avoir  aucun  commerce 
avec  cux  qu'ils  regardoicnt  comme  ses  plus  irr^conciliables  ennemis ;  et  en  m£mc 
terns  il  les  congddia,  sans  leur  vouloir  permettre  de  ripondre  le  moindre  mot. 

"  Mais  de  quelque  artifice  que  Cromwel  se  servit,  pour  pcr!>uadcr  au  peuple  que  le 
z^le  qu'il  avoit  pour  la  Religion  Chrctienne  avoit  6.i  le  motif  de  sa  rupture  avec  le* 
Juifs;  cela  n'empecha  pas  que  tout  le  monde  n'apprlt  que  son  seul  ressentiment  en 
avoit  6'.i  la  cause,  par  le  moyen  d'un  libcUc  qui  courut  alors,  intitule,  '  Cromtoel 
Lion  de  la  Tribu  de  Juda,'  dans  lequel  ce  que  je  viens  de  dire  de  la  deputation  des 
Synagogues  d'Asie  et  d'Ailcma;!nc  (5toit  rapports  avec  toutes  les  reflexions  fines,  et 
toutes  les  railleries  deiicates  qui  se  pouvoient  faire,  sur  celte  matiere,  contre  le  Pro- 
tecteur."   Hiatoire  d'Olivicr  Cromwel,  par  Ragucnct.    lU".    Par.  ig9 I.  p.  200—293. 


o  original  letters. 

Mr.  Crompton, 
When  any  thing  ever  occurred  in  my  reading  any 
where  concerning  the  manner  of  the  Jews  divine  wor- 
ship (though  since  the  Destruction  of  their  City  and 
Temple)  I  have  always  thought  it  worth  the  seeing  of  a 
Christian  ;  at  least  for  once  where  it  could  be  obtained. 
And  amidst  other  fashions  of  Religions  which  my  cu- 
riosity hath  prompted  me  with  a  desire  to  see  in  this 
City,  having  been  at  the  meetings  and  worship  of  Pa- 
pists, of  Anabaptists,  of  Quakers,  of  Fifth  Monarchic 
men,  and  I  considered  and  concluded  with  myself,  that 
there  must  in  reason  need  be  some  number  of  Jews  in 
this  City,  though  those  only  merchants,  and  that  conse- 
quently they  must  have  some  place  of  meeting  together 
for  their  divine  worship.  Whereupon,  as  occasion  of- 
fered me  to  converse  with  any  that  were  likely  to  in- 
form me,  I  inquired  hereof,  but  could  not  of  a  long 
time  hear  or  learn  whether  or  where  any  such  thing 
was.  But  lately  having  a  desire  to  spend  some  of  my 
time  here  in  learning  the  Hebrew  tongue,  and  inquiring 
of  some  one  that  professed  to  teach  it,  I  lighted  upon 
a  learned  Jew  with  a  mighty  bush  beard,  a  great  Rabbi 
as  I  found  him  afterward  to  be,  with  whom  after  once 
or  twice  being  together,  I  fell  into  conference  and  ac- 
quaintance ;  for  he  could  speak  Latin,  and  some  little 
broken  English,  having  as  he  told  me  been  two  years 
in  London,     He  said  he  was  an  Hebrew  of  the  He- 


OllIGlKAL    LETTERS.  9 

brews  of  the  Tribe  of  Levi,  and  his  name  (I  had  liked 
to  have  said  his  Christian  name)  Samuel  Levi.  He 
told  me  his  own  mother  is  yet  living,  and  dwelleth  at 
this  present  in  the  City  of  Jerusalem,  from  whence  he 
had  received  ten  several  Letters  within  these  two  years. 
For  it  is  a  custom  amongst  them,  that  those  who  are 
of  able  estate,  though  born  and  have  lived  in  other 
countries,  yet  when  they  grow  old  they  transport  them- 
selves thither  to  end  their  days,  and  lay  their  bones 
there  in  the  Holy  place  as  he  called  it.  He  said  he 
was  brought  up,  and  was  a  student  eleven  years,  in 
the  Jews  College  in  Cracovia  the  chief  City  of  Poland, 
where  the  Jews  have  an  University,  and  that  he  had 
newly  written  over  the  Five  Books  of  Moses  with  his 
own  hand  in  Hebrew,  without  points,  in  rolls  of  parch- 
ment, for  the  use  of  a  Synagogue :  and  that  himself  had 
formerly  been  Priest  to  a  Synagogue  of  his  own  nation 
in  Poland.  A  very  modest  man,  and  once  with  much 
ado  I  got  him  to  accept  of  an  invitation  to  take  part 
of  a  dinner  with  me :  at  which  time  he  told  me  that 
he  had  special  relation  as  Scribe  and  Rabbi  to  a  pri- 
vate Synagogue  of  his  nation  in  London,  and  that  if  I 
had  a  desire  to  see  their  manner  of  worship,  though 
they  did  scarce  admit  of  any,  their  Synagogue  being 
strictly  kept  with  three  doors  one  beyond  another, 
yet  he  would  give  me  such  a  ticket,  as,  upon  sight 
thereof,  their  porter  would  let  me  in  upon  their  next 
Sabbath  Day  in  the  morning  being  Saturday.    I  made 


10  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

show  as  though  I  were  indifferent,  but  inwardly  hugged 
the  good  hap. 

When  Saturday  came,  I  rose  very  early,  the  place 
being  far  from  my  lodging ;  and  in  a  private  corner  of 
the  City,  with  much  ado,  following  my  directions,  I 
found  it  at  the  point  of  nine  o^'clocky  and  was  let  come 
in  at  the  first  door,  but  there  being  no  Englishman  but 
myself,  and  my  llabbi  not  being  there  then  (for  they 
were  but  just  beginning  service)  I  was  at  first  a  little 
abashed  to  venture  alone  amongst  all  them  Jews ;  but 
my  innate  curiosity  to  see  things  strange  spurring  me 
on,  made  me  confident  even  to  impudence.  I  rubbed 
my  forehead,  opened  the  inmost  door,  and  taking  off 
my  hat  (as  instructed)  I  went  in  and  sate  me  down 
amongst  them ;  but  Lord  (Thoma  frater)  what  a 
strange,  uncouth,  foreign,  and  to  me  barbarous  sight 
was  there,  I  could  have  wished  Thoma  that  you  had 
then  sate  next  me,  for  I  saw  no  living  soul,  but  all 
covered,  hooded,  guized,  veiled  Jews,  and  ray  own 
plain  bare  self  amongst  them.  The  sight  would 
have  frighted  a  novice,  and  made  him  to  have  run  out 
again. 

Every  man  had  a  large  white  vest,  covering,  or  veil 
cast  over  the  high  crown  of  his  hat,  which  from  thence 
hung  down  on  all  sides,  covering  the  whole  hat,  the 
shoulders,  arms,  sides,  and  back  to  the  girdle  place, 
nothing  to  be  seen  but  a  little  of  the  face ;  this,  my 
Rabbi  told  me,  was  their  ancient  garb,  used  in  divine 


ORIGINAL    LETTEttS.  11 

worship  in  their  Synagogues  in  Jerusalem  and  in  all 
the  Holy  Land  before  the  destruction  of  their  City : 
and  though  to  me  at  first,  it  made  altogether  a  strange 
and  barbarous  show,  yet  me  thought  it  had  in  its 
kind,  I  know  not  how,  a  face  and  aspect  of  venerable 
antiquity.  Their  veils  were  all  pure  white,  made  of 
taffata  or  silk,  though  some  few  were  of  a  stuff*  coarser 
than  silk ;  the  veil  at  each  of  its  four  comers  had  a 
broad  badge ;  some  had  red  badges,  some  green,  some 
blue,  some  wrought  with  gold  or  silver,  which  my 
Rabbi  told  me  were  to  distinguish  the  tribes  of  which 
each  was  common. 

I  was  a  curious  and  critical  spectator  of  all  things 
there,  and  when  I  came  to  my  Chamber  in  the  after- 
noon I  wrote  down  the  particulars  in  my  note  book, 
while  fresh  in  memory. 

Their  Synagogue  is  like  a  Chapel,  high  built ;  for 
after  the  first  door  they  go  up  stairs  into  it,  and  the 
floor  is  boarded;  the  seats  are  not  as  ours,  but  two 
long  running  seats  on  either  side,  as  in  a  school :  at  the 
west  end  of  it  there  is  a  seat  as  high  as  a  pulpit,  but 
made  desk  wise,  wherein  the  two  members  of  the  Sy- 
nagogue did  sit  veiled,  as  were  all  both  priest  and 
people.  The  chief  Ruler  was  a  very  rich  merchant, 
a  big,  black,  fierce,  and  stern  man,  to  whom  I  perceive 
they  stand  in  as  reverential  an  awe  as  boys  to  a  master : 
for  when  any  left  singing  upon  their  books  and  talked, 
or  that  some  were  out  of  tune,  he  did  call  aloud  with 


12  ORIGIXAL    LETTEKS. 

a  barbarous  thundering  voice,  and  knocked  upon  the 
high  desk  with  his  fist,  that  all  sounded  again.  Straight 
before  them,  at  some  distance  but  on  a  seat  much  lower, 
sate  the  Priest.  Two  yards  before  him,  on  midst  of 
the  floor,  stood  that  whereon  the  Service  and  Law 
were  read,  being  like  to  an  high  short  table,  with  steps 
to  it  on  one  side  as  an  altar,  covered  with  a  green 
carpet,  and  upon  that  another  shorter  one  of  blue 
silk ;  two  brass  candlesticks  standing  at  either  end  of 
it ;  before  that  on  the  floor  were  three  low  seats 
whereon  some  boys  sat,  their  sons,  richly  veiled,  as 
gentle  comely  youths  as  one  should  see ;  who  had  each 
his  Service  Book  in  hand,  in  Hebrew  without  points, 
and  were  as  ready  and  nimble  in  it,  and  all  their  pos- 
tures, as  the  men. 

There  was  brought  in  a  pretty  Boy  at  four  years 
old,  a  child  of  some  chief  Jew,  in  rich  coats,  with  black 
feathers  in  his  hat,  the  priest  himself  arose  and  put 
a  veil  over  the  child's  hat  of  pure  white  silk,  fastening 
it  under  the  hatband  that  he  should  not  shake  it  off", 
and  set  him  upon  a  seat  among  the  boys ;  but  he  soon 
leaped  off,  and  ran  with  his  veil  dangling  up  and  down ; 
once  he  came  and  looked  at  me,  wondering  perhaps 
that  I  had  no  veil;  at  length  he  got  the  inner  door 
open  and  went  to  his  mother ;  for  they  do  not  suffer 
the  Women  to  come  into  the  same  room  or  into  the 
sight  of  the  men  :  but  on  the  one  side  of  the  Synagogue 
there  is  a  low,  long,  and  narrow  latticed  window. 


ORIGIXAL    LETTERS.  13 

through  which  the  women,  sitting  in  the  next  room,  do 
hear ;  as  the  boy  opened  it,  I  saw  some  of  their  wives 
in  their  rich  silks  bedaubed  with  broad  gold  lace,  with 
muffs  in  one  hand  and  books  in  the  other. 

At  the  east  end  of  the  Synagogue  standeth  a  closet 
like  a  very  high  cupboard,  which  they  call  the  Ark, 
covered  below  with  one  large  hanging  of  blue  silk  ;  its 
upper  half  covered  with  several  drawingcurtains  of  blue 
silk ;  in  it  are  the  Books  of  the  Law  kept.  Before  it, 
upon  the  floor,  stand  two  mighty  brass  candlesticks  with 
lighted  tapers  in  them ;  from  the  roof,  above  the  hang- 
ings, two  great  lamps  of  christal  glass,  holding  each 
about  a  pottle  filled  up  to  the  brim  with  purest  oil,  set 
within  a  case  of  four  little  brass  pillars  guilded.  In 
the  wall  at  either  end  of  the  Synagogue,  are  very 
many  draw  boxes,  with  rings  at  them  like  those  in 
a  Grocer's  Shop ;  and  in  it  (as  I  came  sooner  in  the 
morning  than  many  or  most  of  them)  I  saw  that  each 
Jew  at  his  first  entrance  into  the  place  did  first  bow 
down  towards  the  Ark  wherein  the  Law  was  kept, 
but  with  his  hat  on,  which  they  never  do  put  off  in 
this  place ;  but  a  stranger  must ;  for  after  a  good  while 
two  Englishmen  were  brought  in,  at  which  I  was  glad, 
being  alone  before,  and  they  were  bareheaded  until  they 
were  set  down  amongst  them,  which  then  put  on  their 
hats.  The  one  I  knew  to  be  a  citizen  and  shopkeeper. 
At  last  I  saw  my  Rabbi  come  in.  Each  Jew  after  he  had 
bowed  went  straight  to  his  box,  took  a  little  key  out 


14 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


of  his  pocket,  unlocked  it,  took  out  his  veil  and  books, 
then  threw  his  veil  over  his  hat  and  fitted  it  on  all 
sides,  and  so  went  to  his  place,  and  fell  a  tuning  it 
upon  his  Hebrew  Service  Book  as  hard  and  loud  as  he 
could ;  for  all  is  sung  with  a  mighty  noise  from  first 
to  last,  both  of  priest  and  people ;  saying  some  prayers; 
and  all  was  done  in  the  right  true  Hebrew  tongue,  as 
my  Rabbi  affirmed  to  me  afterwards;  which,  to  this 
end,  they  do  industriously  teach  all  their  children  from 
their  infancy,  having  their  schoolmistress  on  purpose, 
especially  their  Service  books,  which  they  have  at  their 
fingers'  end.  There  was  none  but  had  a  book  open 
in  his  hand,  about  the  bigness  of  our  hand  Bibles.  I 
looked  upon  several  of  their  books  as  they  sate  by  me 
and  before  me,  yea  I  could  plainly  see  both  lines  and 
letters  in  the  Priest's  book  wherein  he  read,  I  sate  so 
nigh  him,  and  all  were  the  true  Hebrew  letters,  but  in 
all  the  books  without  any  points.  The  Priest's  son,  a 
comely  youth,  standing  at  the  Table  or  Altar  alone, 
sung  all  the  former  part  of  the  Service  which  was  a 
full  hour  long,  all  the  rest  singing  with  him,  with  a 
great  and  barbarous  noise ;  this  consisted  mostly  of  the 
Psalms  of  David,  with  some  prayers  intermixed,  which 
they  sung  standing  up  looking  East,  and  with  a  lower 
noise  and  in  tune  not  unlike  to  that  when  the  reading 
Psalms  are  sung  in  our  quires;  but  their  reading 
Psalms  they  sung  much  what  like  as  we  do  sing  bal- 
lads ;  and  I  observed  that  when  mention  was  made  of 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  15 

the  Edomites,  Philistines,  or  any  enemies  of  David,  or 
Israel's,  they  stamped  strongly  with  their  feet,  that  all 
the  Synagogue  sounded  again.  There  were  two  or 
three  composed  Hymns,  which  they,  all  standing  up 
and  looking  toward  Jerusalem,  sang  very  melodiously. 
After  this  former  part  of  the  Service  finished,  the 
Priest's  son  officiating  hitherto,  which  was  about  an 
hour,  there  was  deep  silence  for  a  pretty  while ;  then 
the  Priest  arose  and  some  of  the  chief  Jews  with  him, 
and  they  went  with  a  grave,  slow  pace,  up  the  Syna- 
gogue, to  fetch  the  Law  of  Moses,  and  when  they 
came  to  the  Ark  wherein  it  was  kept,  the  priest  drew 
the  curtain,  and  opening  the  double  door  of  it,  the 
Law  appeared,  then  the  whole  assembly  stood  up  and 
bowed  down  just  toward  it,  and  the  priest  and  those 
chief  ones  with  him,  stood  singing  a  song  to  it  a  little 
while.  The  Law  was  written  in  two  great  rolls  of 
very  broad  parchment  (as  my  Rabbi  told  me  after- 
wards, and  he  told  me  the  meaning  of  each  thing  that 
I  desired,  to  which  you  must  impute  all  that  I  here 
interpret).  The  roll  contained  the  Book  of  Genesis 
and  was  much  lesser ;  the  other  being  three  times  as 
big,  contained  the  other  four  Books  of  Moses.  This 
roll  was  as  thick  as  a  pretty  round  pillar.  Either  roll 
had  two  fine  thrown  Staves  of  black  wood,  one  fastened 
to  either  end  of  it,  whereon  it  was  rolled  up,  the  staves 
meeting  in  the  middle ;  and  the  roll  was  swaddled 
about  with  a  fine  blue  scarf,  and  over  it  was  put  a 


16 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


covering  or  case  of  blue  silk  fringed  at  the  bottom ; 
and  in  the  top  of  the  over  roll  was  stuck  like  a  fine 
tree  of  silver,  hung  full  of  silver  bells,  which  my  Rabbi 
told  rae  they  called  the  Bells  of  Aaron,  and  in  the  top 
of  the  other  roll  was  stuck  a  rod,  having  artificial 
flowers  upon  it,  in  remembrance  of  Aaron's  Rod  that 
budded.  The  priest  took  forth  the  two  rolls  of  the 
Ark  and  delivered  them  to  two  of  those  with  him, 
who  taking  the  bottom  of  the  staves  in  their  hand, 
carried  them  straight  upon  high,  rearing  them  to  their 
shoulder ;  so  they  came  back  in  a  solemn  procession, 
bringing  the  Law  with  singing  (those  only  sang  who 
brought  it)  melodiously  one  of  the  Songs  of  Sion. 
'  The  Law  shall  forth  out  of  Sion  come,'  &c.  And  as 
the  Law  thus  passed  along  by  them  the  people  bowed 
towards  it,  and  such  as  could  reach  took  up  the  fringe 
of  its  costly  covering  in  their  hands  and  kissed  it. 
When  they  had  brought  it  to  the  altar,  four  or  five 
were  busied  in  uncovering  and  unswaddling  the  roll. 
The  priest's  son  took  in  his  hand  the  Silver  Bells  of 
Aaron  and  the  budded  Rod,  and  came  and  sate  down 
next  of  all  to  me,  thrusting  his  side  so  close  to  mine 
that  part  of  his  veil  lay  upon  mine  arm,  he  holding 
the  Bells  and  Rod  all  the  while  close  by  my  nose :  then 
the  priest  opened  and  spread  the  Law  about  a  yard 
wide,  and  lifted  it  up  a  full  yard  above  his  head,  turn- 
ing himself,  and  showing  it  East,  West,  North,  and 
South.    The  Jews  meanwhile  bowing  down  towards  it 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS,  17 

with  great  reverence.  The  parchment  of  it  was  full 
yard  broad,  the  ground  yellow,  the  letters  pure  black, 
and  all  without  points.  I  sate  within  two  yards  of  the 
Altar.  Then  the  priest  laid  the  Law  upon  the  altar 
and  took  in  his  hand  a  small  silver  cane  or  quill,  with 
the  sharp  end  thereof  pointing  at  the  lines  of  the  Law 
as  he  read,  for  the  greater  reverence ;  it  was  half  a  yard 
long.  Then  there  arose  one  out  of  the  assembly  and 
came  unto  the  priest,  making  low  reverence;  when 
the  priest  asked  aloud  whether  he  desired  to  hear  the 
Law  read,  who  saying  '  yes,'  the  priest  bade  him  pray 
then,  and  he  looked  upon  his  Hebrew  Service  Book 
which  he  had  in  his  hand,  and  read  over  a  short  prayer 
very  fast ;  then  the  priest  read  a  few  lines  of  the  Law 
with  a  loud  voice,  in  a  thundering  barbarous  tone,  as 
fast  as  his  tongue  could  run,  for  a  form  only ;  then 
asked  the  man  whether  he  had  heard  the  Law,  who 
saying  '  yes,"'  he  bad  him  give  thanks  then,  and  he 
read  a  short  prayer  out  of  his  book  as  before :  so, 
bowing  himself  to  the  Law  and  the  Priest,  he  went  to 
his  place,  and  another  came,  and  did  in  like  manner 
until  five  or  six  had  thus  heard  the  Law  read  to  them  ; 
which  they  coimt  a  special  piece  of  honour  to  them. 
After  that,  five  or  six  were  busied  in  wrapping  up 
swaddling  and  veiling  the  two  rolls  of  the  Law  again, 
whereon  they  put  their  Bells  and  budded  Rod  again, 
and  carried  back  with  solemn  procession  as  before,  and 
the  priest  placed  it  in  tiie  Ark  ;  and  they  stood  singing 
VOL.  IV.    SER.  2.  c 


18  ORIGINAL  LETTERS. 

to  it  awhile.  Afterwards  the  priest  alone,  at  the  Altar, 
read  very  many  short  prayers,  to  which  they  all  stand- 
ing up  said  '  Amen,'  using  this  same  word- 
Then  a  comely  youth  standing  in  the  midst  of  the 
Synagogue,  and  looking  towards  the  Law,  sung  alone  a 
long  Anthem,  and  after  this  was  there  long  Supplication, 
which  was  the  most  solemn  part  of  all  their  service ; 
which  they  all  spake  together  standing  (for  they  never 
kneel),  with  their  faces  East,  often  bowing  down  alto- 
gether; it  being  partly  a  complaint  of  the  long  de- 
solation of  their  City  and  Temple,  partly  a  prayer  for 
the  coming  of  Messiah  and  their  Restoration  (thank 
my  Rabbi  for  the  interpretation) ;  *  Sion  is  become  a 
ploughed  field,  and  Jerusalem  made  an  heap  of  stones, 
thy  servants  think  upon  her  stones  and  it  grieveth 
them  to  see  her  in  the  dust ;  our  ancient  and  our 
beautiful  House,  where  our  fathers  served  thee,  lieth 
waste ;  then  gather  us  o  Lord  from  amongst  the 
Heathen ;  remember  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob ; 
remember  thy  promises  made  unto  our  fathers,  in  our 
time,  in  our  time,  O  Lord,'  &c. 

I  confess  that  looking  earnestly  upon  them  in  this, 
and  thoughts  coming  into  my  mind  of  the  Wonders 
which  God  wrought  for  their  fathers  in  Egypt,  and 
who  heard  the  Voice  of  God  speak  to  them  out  of  the 
midst  of  the  fire  on  Sinai,  and  seed  of  Abraham  the 
friend  of  God,  I  was  strangely,  uncouthly,  unaccus- 
tomedly  moved,  and  deeply  affected ;  tears  stood  in 


ORIGINAL    LETTEllS.  19 

my  eyes  the  while,  to  see  those  banished  Sons  of  Israel 
standing  in  their  ancient  garb  (veiled)  but  in  a  strange 
land,  solemnly  and  carefully  looking  East  toward  their 
own  Country,  confessing  their  sins  and  the  sins  of  their 
forefathers,  humbling  themselves  and  bowing  down 
together  (as  often  they  did  in  their  Supplication)  be- 
fore the  God  of  their  Fathers,  who  doubtless  will  hear 
them  or  their  posterity  better  than  they  desire,  will 
open  their  eyes  and  let  them  see  that  the  true  Messiah 
came  long  since,  even  he  whom  their  fathers  pierced, 
and  they  shall  mourn  over  him  and  be  brought  unto 
him,  and  to  their  own  land.  After  this,  for  a  con- 
clusion of  all,  the  Priest  read  certain  select  promises  of 
their  restoration,  at  which  they  showed  great  rejoicing, 
by  strutting  up,  so  that  some  of  their  veils  flew  about 
like  morris  dancers,  only  they  wanted  bells.  This 
forenoon  service  continued  about  three  hours,  from 
nine  to  twelve,  which  being  ended,  they  all  put  off 
their  veils,  and  each  man  wrapping  his  veil  up,  went 
and  put  it  and  his  Hebrew  Service  Book  into  his  box, 
and  locking  it  departed. 

My  Rabbi  invited  me  afterwards  to  come  and  see 
the  feast  of  Purim,  which  they  kept  he  said  for  the 
deliverance  from  Haman^s  Conspiracy,  mentioned  in 
the  Book  of  Esther;  in  which  they  use  great  knocking 
and  stamping  when  Haman  is  named.  Also  he  desired 
me  to  come  and  see  them  eat  the  Passover,  which  they 
did  ten  days  before  our  Easter,  and  he  had  got  me  to 

c  2 


20  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

the  door  of  the  place,  but  I  felt  such  a  reluctancy  iri 
me,  as  that  having  in  part  satisfied  my  Curiosity  by 
seeing  their  manner  of  Service  once,  my  heart  would 
in  no  wise  give  me  to  go  again  amongst  those  Unbe- 
lievers, in  that  place  where  my  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ,  in  whom  is  all  my  hope  and  trust  for 
ever,  was  not  owned.  So  I  came  away  back  again 
without  seeing  it ;  though  afterwards  I  understood  that 
several  had  been  there  to  see  them  eat  it,  who  brought 
away  some  of  their  unleavened  bread  with  them,  and 
showed  to  some  who  told  me,  one  year  in  01iver"'s  time, 
they  did  build  booths  on  the  other  side  of  Thames, 
and  kept  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  in  them,  as  some 
told  me  who  saw  them ;  but  since  the  King's  coming 
in,  they  are  very  close,  nor  do  admit  any  to  see  them 
but  very  privately.  <^ 

When  I  was  in  the  Synagogue  I  counted  about  or 
above  a  hundred  right  Jews,  one  proselite  amongst 
them,  they  were  all  gentlemen  (merchants)  I  saw  not 
one  mechanic  person  of  them ;  most  of  them  rich  in 
apparel,  divers  with  jewels  glittering  (for  they  are  the 
richest  jewellers  of  any)  they  are  all  generally  black 
so  as  they  may  be  distinguished  from  Spaniards  or  na- 
tive Greeks,  for  the  Jews  hair  hath  a  deeper  tincture 
of  a  more  perfect  raven  black,  they  have  a  quick 
piercing  eye,  and  look  as  if  of  strong  intellectuals ; 
several  of  them  are  comely,  gallant,  proper  gentlemen. 
I  Igiew  many  of  them  when  I  saw  them  daily  upon  the 


t 

ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  21 

Exchange,  and  the  Priest  there  too,  who  also  is  a  mer- 
chant. It  were  tedious  to  relate  the  several  disputes 
I  had  with  my  Rabbi  at  our  being  together,  and  his 
strange  rabbinical  and  indeed  irrational  reasonings 
against  Christ.  In  a  word  the  curse  is  upon  them  to 
the  uttermost ;  and  they  have  a  grosser  veil  over  the 
eye  of  the  soul,  than  that  which  covers  their  heads ; 
they  are  so  firmly  possessed  with  an  invincible  preju- 
dice against  the  Cross  of  Christ,  and  so  doat  upon 
their  imaginary  Messiah  to  come  a  temporal  King 
that  shall  conquer  all  the  princes  of  the  earth,  and  make 
their  nation  Lords  of  all  the  World,  that  an  argument 
from  the  strongest,  clearest,  and  most  convincing  rea- 
sons that  can  be  brought  for  Christ,  is  but  an  arrow 
shot  against  a  wall  of  brass.  Bene  vale  mi  Thorn^  et 
ora  tu  pro  Judaeis,  et  pro  miserrimo  peccatore  omnium 
Christianorum.  Ille  tuus  olim  fraterrimus  et  in  per- 
petuum  frater  ubicunque  terrarum, 

JO.  GBEENUALGH. 

London,  April  22'. 
1662. 

Quod  ad  Judaeos. 
Coepit  ab  his,  delata  ad  nos,  referetur  ad  illos 
Nostra  fides,  et  erunt  sub  Mundi  fine  fidelesu. 

For  my  worthy  friend  Mr.  Thomas 
Crompton,  Minister  of  Astley  Chappel, 

These, 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCX. 

The  Rev.  Stephen  Bing  to  Dr.  Sancrqft  Dean  of  St 
Pauls :  upon  the  ravage  of  the  Great  Plague. 

[MS.  HARL.  3783.  fol.  41.  Orig.] 


*^*  In  this  and  some  succeeding  Letters  the  reader  will  find  a  few  par- 
ticulars  of  what  occurred  in  the  Great  Plague  of  1665;  to  the  full  de- 
scription of  wliich  neither  the  pencil  nor  the  pen  have  yet  been  adequate. 
The  desolation  was  too  wide  and  too  fearful  for  any  one  to  seek  ma- 
terials for  a  picture  of  it  while  it  raged :  to  the  contemporary  Letters  of 
survivors  therefore,  and  their  Diaries  where  such  exist,*  can  we  alone 
look  now  for  its  minute  details.  These  should  be  sought  for  and  formed 
into  a  Volume.  Such  a  publication  might  be  useful,  not  only  to  those 
who  read  and  reflect,  but  to  all  who  in  the  pride  of  science  or  the  greedi- 
ness of  trade  would  speculate  upon  the  chances  of  contagion.  ^  De  Foe's 
Journal  of  the  Plague  of  1665,  was  an  entire  fiction ;  though  it  deceived 
Dr.  Mead. 


'  There  is  ati  entry  in  Pepys's  Diary,  vol.  i.  pp.  363,  364,  one  part  of  which  is 
affecting.  Pepys  was  then  at  Woolwich.  He  says,  "  My  Lord  Brouncker,  Sir  J. 
Mimies  and  I  up  to  the  Vestry  at  the  desire  of  the  Justices  of  the  Peace,  in  order  to 
the  doing  something  for  the  keeping  of  the  plague  from  growing ;  but  Lord  !  to  con- 
sider the  madness  of  people  of  the  town,  who  will  (because  they  are  forbid)  come  in 
crowds  along  with  the  dead  corpses  to  see  them  buried ;  but  we  agreed  on  some 
orders  for  the  prevention  thereof.  Among  other  stories,  one  was  very  passionate 
methought,  of  a  complaint  brought  against  a  man  in  the  town,  for  taking  a  child 
from  London  from  an  infected  house.  Alderman  Hooker  told  us  it  was  the  child  of 
a  very  able  citizen  in  Gracechurch  Street,  a  saddler,  who  had  buried  all  the  rest  of 
his  children  of  the  plague,  and  himself  and  wife  now  being  shut  up  and  in  despair  of 
escaping,  did  desire  only  to  save  the  life  of  this  little  child,  and  so  prevailed  to  have 
it  received  stark-naked  into  the  arms  of  a  friend,  who  brought  it  (having  put  it  into 
new  fresh  clothes)  to  Greenwich ;  where  upon  hearing  the  story,  we  did  agree  it 
should  be  permitted  to  be  received  and  kept  in  the  town." 

•>  The  following  passage  in  the  Additions  to  the  Account  of  Cheshire  by  the  Messrs. 
Lysons  in  their  Magna  Britannia,  p.  845.  although  it  relates  to  the  former  Plague 
of  1625,  will  not  be  thought  impertinently  called  to  notice  here. 

"  Since  the  Account  of  Malpas  has  been  printed  we  have  been  favoured  with  the 
communication  of  the  following  very  remarkable  entries  in  the  parish  Register  at 
that  place,  relating  to  the  ravages  of  that  dreadful  disorder  the  plague,  which  swept 


ORIGINAL    LETTEES.  23 

27*  July,  1665. 
Sir, 
I  HAVE  sent  by  this  opportunity  "  The  Weekly 
News"  and  "  The  Bill  of  Mortality.''  The  prayers  of  the 
Church  are  continued,  and  persons  attending  as  yet. 
*  #  *  #  * 

It  is  said  the  Sacrist  is  out  of  town,  and  there  will 
be  no  Communion  as  customarily,  of  the  which  I  have 
been  inquired,  and  to  which  I  could  not  make  answer 
fully.     People  frequent  the  Church  as  before,  except- 

away  a  whole  family  in  the  township  of  Bradley.  The  circumstance  of  a  man  beinf; 
imiuced  to  dig  his  own  grave,  from  the  conviction  that  the  slender  and  sickly  rem- 
nant of  his  household  were  unable  to  provide  him  with  the  rites  of  sepulture,  presents 
that  dreadful  calamity  to  our  imagination,  in  a  more  awful  and  horrific  view  than 
any  of  the  many  distressing  particulars  we  remember  to  have  met  concerning  it. 
"  162S. 

"  Thomas  Jefferie,  servant  to  M'.  Dawson  of  Bradley,  buryed  the  x*K  daye  of 
August,  in  the  night,  he  dyed  of  the  Plague ;  before  this  was  buryed  a  daughter  of 
the  sayd  Dawson's,  but  not  of  the  sickness,  as  it  is  thought. 

"  Rlcharde  the  sonne  of  Thomas  Dawson  of  Bradley  (that  died  of  the  plague,) 
buryed  the  xiij«''.  of  August  in  the  night,  1625. 

"  Raffe  Dawson,  sonneof  theaflforesayd  Thomas,  came  from  London  about  xxv*. 
of  July  last  past,  and  b^ing  sicke  of  the  plague,  died  in  his  fathers  bowse,  and  soe 
infected  the  sayd  howse,  and  was  buryed,  as  it  was  reported,  neare  unto  his  fathers 
howse. 

"  Thomas  Dawson  of  Bradley,  died  of  the  plague,  and  was  buryed  the  xvi*.  day 
of  August  1628,  about  lii'''.  of  the  clocke,  after  midnight 

"  Elyzabeth,  the  daughter  of  the  afforesayde  Thomas  Dawson,  died  of  the  plague 
of  pestilence,  and  was  buried  the  xx.  of  August,  162S. 

"  Anne  the  wyffe  of  John  Dawson,  sonne  of  the  afforesed  Thomas  Dawson,  died 
of  the  plague  of  pestilence,  and  was  buryed  the  xx*.  of  August. 

"  Richarde  Dawson,  (brother  to  the  abovenamed  Thomas  Dawson  of  Bradley) 
being  sicke  of  the  plague,  and  perceyving  he  must  die  at  that  tyme,  arose  out  of  his 
bed,  and  made  his  grave,  and  caused  his  ncfew,  John  Dawson,  to  cast  strawe  into  the 
grave  which  was  not  farre  from  the  howse,  and  went  and  laid  him  down  in  the  sayd 
grave  and  caused  clothes  to  be  layd  uppon  and  soe  departed  out  of  this  world ;  this 
he  did  because  he  was  a  stronge  man  and  heavier  than  his  sayd  nefew,  and  an  other 
a  wench  were  able  to  burye.  He  died  about  the  xxiiij'''.  of  August.  Thus  much  I 
was  credibly  tould  he  dM,  1625. 

"  John  Dawson,  sonne  of  the  above-named  Thomas,  came  unto  his  father,  when 
his  father  sent  for  him,  being  sicke,  and  having  laid  him  downe  in  a  ditch,  died  In  it 
the  xxix'i'.  daye  of  August  1625,  in  the  night. 

"  Rose  Smyth  servant  of  the  abovenamed  Thomas  Dawson,  and  the  last  of  that 
howsehold,  died  of  plague,  and  was  buryed  by  William  Cooke,  the  y^K  daye  of  Sep- 
tember, 1625,  near  unto  the  sayd  howse.' 


24  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

ing  on  Sundays,  and  the  last  Holyday,  on  which  we 
had  a  Sermon,  and  shall  have  another  on  the  Fast- 
day. 

The  increase  of  God's  Judgment  deads  people's  hearts, 
that  trading  strangely  ceaseth,  and  bills  of  Exchange 
are  not  accepted,  so  that  they  shut  up  their  shops ;  and 
such  a  fear  possesseth  them,  as  it  is  wonderful  to  see 
how  they  hurry  into  the  country  as  though  the  same 
God  was  not  there  that  is  in  the  city :  so  that  those 
that  are  living,  and  lived  in  the  great  sickness  time,a 
saw  nor  knew  not  the  like,  when  there  died  four  thou- 
sand a  week.     I  pray  God  to  prevent  a  sad  sequel. 

Great  complaint  there  is  of  necessity ;  and  needs  must 
it  be  the  more  when  the  rich  haste  away  that  should 
supply  the  poor's  want.  I  have  been  since  the  writing 
of  my  last  letter  in  several  places,  being  informed  of 
some,  that  are  shut  up,  to  be  in  a  very  necessitous 
condition,  to  see  if  it  were  so  or  no ;  and  so  finding 
them,  I  have  been  bold  to  extend  your  charity  to  the 
outrunning  the  bank  you  honoured  me  with.  The 
Lord  extend  the  yearnings  of  his  bowels  of  compassion 
towards  us,  that  we  be  not  consumed  by  the  means  of 
his  heavy  hand ;  and  give  us  grace  to  depart  from  the 
plague  of  our  hearts,  that  this  Plague  and  grievous 
Sickness  may  be  withdrawn  from  us  for  Christ  Jesus 
his  sake:  that  so  we  may  have  the  blessed  happi- 
ness again  of  meeting  together  in  his  Howse  with  one 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


25 


accord  to  record  his  name.  Thus  prays  he  always, 
who  shall  be  much  honoured  to  be  esteemed  the 
lowest  of 

Your  worship's  most  humble 

and  faithful  servants, 

STEPHEN  RING. 

These  to  the  reverend  and  right 
worshipful  Dr.  Bancroft,  Dean  of 
St.  Pauls,  London,  at  the  Rose  and 
Crown  in  Tunbridge, 

present. 


LETTER  CCCXI. 


Mr.  Bing  to  Dr.  Sancrqft.  The  Plague  continues. 
The  Bhhop  of  London  endeavours  to  recall  the 
Pastors  who  had  left  their  Churches. 

[us.  HARL.  3783.  fol.  42.  Orig.\ 


3  August,  1665. 
Reverend  and  right  Worshipful, 
I  HAVE  sent  the  "  Weekly  Bill""  and  "  News,""  as  I 
did  the  last  week  (and  so  God  willing  shall  continue 
your  command)  which  I  hope  was  received,  and  like- 
wise a  Letter  with  four  letters  enclosed  by  a  special 
friend  the  week  before.    The  Cross  Sermons '  are  con- 

•  Thoic  preached  at  St.  Paul's  Cross,    isdit. 


JCO  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

tinued,  and  we  had  on  the  Fast  Day  a  laudable  Ser- 
mon by  Mr.  Risden  minister  in  Bread-street,  my  Lord 
Mayor  being  present,  Sir  Richard  Brown  and  Sir 
John  Robinson  and  other  Aldermen,  with  a  great 
congregation. 

Our  Prayers  are  continued  three  times  a  day,  but  we 
do  not  our  attendance,  for  now  there  are  but  three  Petty 
Canons  left ;  viz.  myself,  Mr.  Clifford,  and  Masters, 
with  two  Vicars,  Mr.  Simpson  and  Morrice ;  the  rest 
are  out  of  town.  Mr.  Portington  lies  at  the  point  of 
death,  whose  turn  being  to  officiate  this  week,  I  supply ; 
for  none  else  would  do  it  except  they  are  paid  for  it. 
Little  mercy ;  the  Lord  be  merciful  to  us.  I  wish  it 
were  as  formerly,  which  was  not  so  in  such  case  of  ne- 
cessity. Dr.  Barwick  remembers  his  service,  and  asked 
me,  as  also  others,  if  I  heard  any  thing  concerning  the 
monthly  Communion,  the  which  I  could  say  little  to. 
So  waiting  God's  good  will  and  pleasure  in  and  for  his 
gracious  presence  again,  and  the  grace  of  yours  in  his 
Holy  Place  where  it  hath  pleased  the  King  of  Kings 
to  place  you  governor,  he  heartily  prays  for,  who 
humbly  remains 

Your  worship''s  most  humble 

and  affectionate  servant, 

STEPHEN  BING. 

It  is  said  that  my  Lord  Bishop  of  London  hath  sent 
to  those  Pastors  that  have   quitted  their  flocks  by 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  27 

reason  of  these  times,  that,  if  they  return  not  speedily, 
others  shall  be  put  into  their  places. 

To  the  reverend  and  right  wor- 
shipful William   Sancroft,  Doctor 
of  Divinity,  Dean  of  the  Cathedral 
Church  of  St.  Paul,  London,  these 
present. 


LETTER  CCCXII. 


Mr.  Bing  to  Dr.  Sancroft.     The  Sickness  continues. 
One  of  the  late  King's  Judges  taken  prisoner^  but 
rescued.    The  disaffected  take  advantage  of  the  con- 
fusion  occasioned  hy  the  Plague. 

[MS.  HAat.  3783.  fol.  4a.  Orig.\ 


10th.  August,  1665. 
Reverend  and  right  worshipful, 
I  HAVE  sent  you  the  Thursday's  intelligence,  half  of 
which  was  in  the  other  sent  on  Monday,  which  I  hope 
is  received  with  the  answer  to  the  letter  that  came  to 
my  hand  on  Saturday  last ;  and  likewise  the  "  Weekly 
Bill,*"  which  is  very  sad,  and  the  more  sad  are  our  times 
that  neither  calm  nor  storm  will  abate  the  fury  of  our 


28  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

monstrous  spirits,  who  in  the  face  of  a  congregation, 
as  at  Paul's  the  other  day,  will  say  these  Calamities 
are  caused  by  the  Government  in  Church  and  State. 

The  Sickness  is  broke  out  in  two  places  since  Mon- 
day in  St.  Gregories ;  one  Dwelling  opening  into  your 
yard,  and  the  other  at  the  left  corner  of  the  entry  of 
our  going  into  the  Church.  It  is  in  Cambridge  also, 
of  which  I  forgot  to  tell  you.  And  whereas  I  told 
you  of  two  sick  in  the  Petty  Canons ;  it  is  said  the 
husband  died  of  a  consumption,  but  the  wife  lies  sick 
of  a  plague  sore.  For  other  places  infected  in  the 
parish  I  informed  in  my  last,  with  that  of  their  Lord- 
ships being  present  at  the  prorogation  of  the  Parlia- 
ment until  the  3 '.  October,  and  that  of  the  Convocation 
by  virtue  of  King's  writ  until  26\  Jan.  following. 

At  the  end  of  the  last  week  one  of  the  late  King's 
judges  being  taken,  he  was  sent  to  the  Tower,  but 
by  the  way,  at  the  lower  end  of  Cheapside,  by  a  con- 
course of  people  he  was  rescued.^  This  morning  it  was 
told  me  that  some  confederacy  is  found  out ;  and  may 
all  their  devices  be  frustrated,  and  the  devisers  caught 
in  their  own  traps  that  seek  ill  to  Sion  and  the  King. 
The  Lord  be  gracious  to  this  Church  and  Nation,  and 
down  with  them  that  would  down  with  governors  and 

•  This  same  circumstance  is  mentioned  in  Pepys's  Diary,  vol.  i.  p.  359.  "  Aug.  S"-. 
1665.  I  am  told  of  a  great  riot  upon  Thursday  last  in  Cheapside ;  Colonel  Danvers, 
a  delinquent, liaving  been  taken,  and  in  his  way  to  the  Tower  was  rescued  from  the 
captain  of  the  guard,  and  carried  away  ;  one  only  of  the  rescuers  being  taken." 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  29 

Government.  They  hope  that  this  his  hand  of  dis- 
pleasure will  work  much  for  them,  but  we  trust  he 
will  correct  us  in  his  fatherly  judgment,  and  not  in  his 
fury,  that  we  may  be  the  better  fitted  to  meet  him 
once  more  in  the  beauty  of  Holiness  to  praise  his 
name,  which  God  grant  for  his  mercy's  sake  in  Christ 
Jesus.  So  are  the  hearty  prayers  of  him  who  is  and 
shall  be  always. 

Your  most  humble  and  faithful  servant, 

STE.    BING. 

Dr.  Barwick  the  constant  frequenter  of  our  church, 
sometimes  three  times  in  a  day,  remembers  his  service 
to  your  Worship. 

These  for  the  reverend  and  right 
wor".  Will"'.  Sancroft,  Dr.  of  Di- 
vinity, Dean  of  the  Cathedral 
Church  of  St.  Paul,  London, 

present. 
To  be  left  at  the  Rose  and  Crown 
in  Tunbridge. 


30  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCXIII. 

J.  TilUscm  to  Dr.  Sancrqft.  The  Necessities  of  the 
Poor.  The  parish  of  St.  Giles  Cripplegate  more 
severely  visited  hy  the  Plague  than  any  other  in 
London. 

[MS.  HAHL.  3785.  fol.  48.  Orig.\ 


August  the  15ti'.  1665. 
Reverend  Sir, 
I  RECEIVED  yours  of  the  1 1^^.  instant,  and  in  obedi- 
ence to  your  commands  carried  the  enclosed  to  Mr. 
Welsted  and  received  £\\,  who  just  then  was  ready 
with  all  his  family  to  be  gone  into  the  country ;  but 
your  bill  coming  to  him  in  so  seasonable  an  hour  he 
has  left  order  at  Sir  Robert  BarkwelPs  to  discharge 
your  bills  if  any  come  upon  him  from  you.  I  have 
likewise  acquainted  Mr.  Ring  with  your  intentions  of 
charity  towards  the  poor,  and  shall  take  Dr.  Barwick's 
advice  before  it  be  disposed  of,  and  (if  it  might  be) 
have  your  directions  a  little  too.  I  hope  you  will  not 
take  my  simple  well  meaning  amiss,  nor  take  it  ill  if  I 
put  you  in  mind  of  our  own  parish,  where  there  is  all 
this  time  sixteen  or  seventeen  houses  visited,  a  great 
many  of  them  poor  and  in  want,  and  that  some  of  the 
parishioners,  as  I  am  informed  (I  beg  your  pardon  for 


ORIGINAL    LETTEKS.  31 

my  good  will)  do  a  little  grumble  that  you  left  nothing 
for  the  poor  when  you  went  away.  I  perceive  since 
this  that  Mr.  Bing  had  the  disposing  of  some  of  your 
charity,  and  I  do  not  doubt  but  that  he  will  give  you 
an  account  of  it ;  nor  do  I  think  it  is  your  will  that 
any  partiality  should  be  used  in  this  case.  It  is  very 
probable  that  some  neighbouring  parishes  may  stand 
in  need,  but  I  am  sure  that  the  miserable  condition  of 
St.  Gileses  Cripplegate,  which  is  one  of  your  peculiars, 
is  more  to  be  pitied  than  any  parish  in  or  about  Lon- 
don, where  all  have  liberty  least  their  sick  and  poor 
should  be  famished  within  doors ;  the  parish  not  being 
able  to  relieve  their  necessities.  I  had,  not  long  since, 
such  a  sum  as  yours  to  distribute,  and  where  I  knew 
not  the  necessity  of  the  poor  I  paid  a  sum  to  the 
churchwardens,  and  they  to  the  overseers  of  the  poor, 
so  that  I  had  an  account  brought  to  how  many  persons 
in  each  parish  it  was  distributed,  but  this  is  no  rule 
for  You. 

Your  neighbour  and  tenant  Fleetham  has  his  health, 
God  be  thanked,  very  well,  and  though  his  maid  was 
reported  to  be  dead  with  his  child,  she  is  recovered, 
and  all  the  family  well.  ^  Dr.  Barwick  is  very  careful 
of  him  and  his  family,  and  of  keeping  the  gates  duly 
locked  up.  I  was  lately  at  Fulham,  and  my  lord 
commanded  me  to  let  you  know  that  himself  and  fa- 
mily are  all  in  good  health,  and  to  send  his  commenda- 

»  AH  the  fjimily,  excepting  the  maid,  were  afterwards  swc>))t  away.    Sec  p.  3T. 


S2  ORTGIXAL    LKTTERS. 

tions  to  you,  and  that  he  desired  very  much  to  hear 
where  you  were  resident,  and  how  you  did  enjoy  your 
health.  I  had  one  from  my  master  this  day,  wherein 
he  and  my  mistress  commend  them  to  you,  and  would 
be  glad  to  see  you  at  Canterbury  when  you  remove 
from  Tunbridge ;  though  you  may  be  better  accom- 
modated elsewhere,  not  better  welcome.  I  am  not 
cei'tain  whether  I  shall  remove  from  this  place  or  no, 
nor  do  I  know  how  long  it  will  please  God  to  give  me 
my  life :  ^  however  I  think  no  fitter  person  that  is  likely 
to  stay  here,  with  whom  to  leave  the  trust  of  your 
house,  than  Mr.  Almond ;  I  am  persuaded  you  need 
not  question  his  fidelity.  If  I  do  remove  I  shall  give 
you  timely  notice.  Dr.  Barwick  and  Mr.  Bing  pre- 
sent their  services  to  you.  The  prayers  of  the  church 
are  continued  by  Mr.  Bing,  Mr.  Clifford,  and  Mr. 
Masters,  and  Simpson  attending.  I  smoke  your  house 
twice  a  week,  Tuesdays  and  Fridays.  I  beg  the  con- 
tinuance of  your  prayers,  and  rest 

Your  obedient  humble  servant, 

J.    TILLISON. 

It  is  reported  that  above  eight  hundred  are  already 
buried  in  Cripplegate  parish  this  week.  ^ 

»  Pepys  in  his  Diary,  vol.  i.  p.  359  says,  "  Aug.  10*.  the  Town  (jrowiug  so  un- 
healthy, that  a  man  cannot  depend  upon  living  two  days."  In  another  place,  "  Sad 
news  of  the  death  of  so  many  in  the  parish  of  the  plague,  forty  last  night.  The 
Bell  always  going." 

ii  The  Bill  of  Mortality  for  a  subsequent  weekjiO'i".  Aug.  to  5"".  Sept.  returned  56T 
dead  of  the  plague  in  this  Parish.  Tlie  total  returned  buried  in  that  week  from 
Cripplegate,  was  C90.  The  poor  of  this  P.irish  having  liberty  to  go  about,  the  con- 
tagion became  more  extended  in  it. 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS.  33 


LETTER  CCCXIV. 

Mr.  TilUson  to  Dr.  Sancrqft.     Further  particulars 
of  the  violence  of  the  Plague, 

[MS.  HAHL.  3785.  fol.  49.  Orig.^ 


London,  August  the  23^.  1665. 

Reverend  Sir, 
Yours  of  Saturday  last  from  Ewell,  I  have  received, 
and  as  far  as  in  me  lies  have  observed  and  done  your 
commands.  I  have  paid  .£'40  to  Mr.  Daniel  Keilway, 
and  £5  to  those  of  the  choir  to  whom  you  directed  me, 
who  return  their  humble  service  and  thanks,  and  pro- 
mise to  continue  their  constant  attendance  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Church.  I  likewise  paid  £5  to  the  church- 
wardens of  St.  Giles's  Cripplegate  since  your  last  to 
me;  the  rest  of  your  charity  I  hope  Mr.  Ring  will 
give  a  good  account  of.  He  had  £5  of  your  last 
money  from  me.  Though  your  care  could  not  havp 
been  more  than  it  was  for  furnishing  me  with  money 
to  discharge  those  payments  which  you  ordered  in 
your  last,  yet  all  those  ways  failed  every  one.  Dr. 
Rarwick  pretended  yesterday  that  he  had  not  so  much 
money  of  his  own  to  disburse  presently,  but  at  the  last 

VOL.  IV.    SFR.  2.  D 


• 


34  OniGIKAL    LETTERS. 

(though  a  little  scrupled  at  first)  he  was  wiUing  to  let 
me  take  £4:0  out  of  the  common  stock,  and  that  we 
intended  to  do  this  morning,  but  God  Almighty  has 
ordered  it  otherwise,  by  striking  Dr.  Barwick  with  so 
desperate  sickness  that  it  was  not  fit  for  me-  to  go  to 
him,  nor  he  in  a  condition  to  be  reminded  of  any  such 
thing ;  it  seems  not  one  member  but  all  the  parts  of 
his  body  bears  a  part  in  his  sufferings ;  neither  rising 
nor  botch  does  yet  appear;  a  slow  weak  pulse  and  faint- 
ness  possesses  him  ;  his  sweating  is  not  much ;  seeing 
this  to  happen  it  made  me  void  of  hope  to  effect  my 
business,  yea  and  daunted  me  very  much  too.  But 
after  a  little  pause  I  went  to  Sir  Robert  Viners  (there 
Mr.  Welsted's  money  lies)  but  could  not  receive  one 
penny  unless  I  brought  Mr.  Welsted's  note.  I  am 
sorry  Mr.  Welsted  should  forget  his  promise,  he  is 
some  where  towards  Uxbridge. 

Your  tenant  Fleetham  died  this  afternoon.  Ken- 
drick  the  beliringer  has  languished  since  last  Sunday, 
we  have  some  hopes  this  evening  that  he  may  recover. 
Johnson  your  bailiff  was  buried  last  night.  I  am  very 
sorry  Mr.  Sisson  has  caught  so  troublesome  a  compa- 
nion as  an  ague.  I  wish  he  may  shake  it  off"  before 
winter.  Mr.  Bing  presents  his  humble  service  to  you. 
I  am  a  little  doubtful  whether  this  will  come  to  your 
hands.  I  have  no  other  directions  to  send  to  you  but 
by  inquiring  from  one  inn  to  another  in  South wark 
this  afternoon.     If  I  do  but  once  find  a  conveyance  I 


ORiaiNAL    LETTERS.  35 

shall  he  ready  to  observe  your  commands  upon  all 
occasions  so  long  as  I  live,  for  so  long  shall  I  be 
your  faithful  servant, 

JO.    TILLISON. 


LETTER  CCCXV. 


J.  Tillison  to  Dr.  Sancroft.     The  great  desolation  of 
the  City. 

[m8.  harl.  3785.  fol.  50.  Orig.} 


Sept.  14ti'.  1665. 
Reverend  Sir, 

We  are  in  good  hopes  that  God  in  his  mercy  will 
put  a  stop  to  this  sad  calamity  of  Sickness ;  but  the 
desolation  of  the  City  is  very  great.  That  heart  is 
either  steel  or  stone  that  will  not  lament  this  sad  Visita- 
tion, and  will  not  bleed  for  those  unutterable  sorrows. 

It  is  a  time,  God  knows,  that  one  woe  courts  another; 
those  that  are  sick  are  in  extreme  sorrow ;  the  poor  are 
in  need;  those  that  are  in  health  are  in  fear  of  in- 
fection on  the  one  side,  and  the  wicked  inventions  of 
hellish  rebellious  spirits  to  put  us  in  an  uproar  on  the 
other  side. 

d2 


36  ORIGINAL  LETTERS. 

What  eye  would  not  weep  to  see  so  many  habitations 
uninhabited ;  the  poor  sick  not  visited ;  the  hungry 
not  fed ;  the  Grave  not  satisfied  !  Death  stares  us 
continually  in  the  face  in  every  infected  person  that 
passeth  by  us ;  in  every  coffin  which  is  daily  and  hourly 
carried  along  the  streets.  The  bells  never  cease  to 
put  us  in  mind  of  our  mortality. 

The  custom  was,  in  the  beginning,  to  bury  the  dead 
in  the  night  only ;  now,  both  night  and  day  will  hardly 
be  time  enough  to  do  it. 

For  the  last  week,  mortality  did  too  apparently 
evidence  that,  that  the  dead  was  piled  in  heaps  above 
ground  for  some  hours  together,  before  either  time 
could  be  gained  or  place  to  bury  them  in. 

The  Quakers  (as  we  are  informed)  have  buried  in 
their  piece  of  ground  a  thousand  for  some  weeks  to- 
gether last  past. 

Many  are  dead  in  Ludgate,  Newgate,  and  Christ 
Church  Hospital,  and  many  other  places  about  the 
town  which  are  not  included  in  the  bill  of  mortality. 

The  disease  itself  (as  is  acknowledged  by  our  prac- 
titioners in  physic)  was  more  favourable  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  contagion ;  now  more  fierce  and  violent ; 
and  they  themselves  do  likewise  confess  to  stand 
amazed  to  meet  with  so  many  various  symptoms  which 
they  find  amongst  their  patients.  One  week  the 
general  distempers  are  botches  and  boils;  the  next 
week  as  clear-skinned  as  may  be ;  but  death  spares 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  37 

neither.  One  week,  full  of  spots  and  tokens;  and 
perhaps  the  succeeding,  none  at  all.  Now  taken  with 
a  vomiting  and  looseness,  and  within  two  or  three 
days  almost  a  general  raging  madness.  One  while 
patients  used  to  linger  four  or  five  days,  at  other  times 
not  forty-eight  hours ;  and  at  this  very  time  we  find  it 
more  quick  than  ever  it  was.  Many  are  sick,  and  few 
escape.  Where  it  has  had  its  fling,  there  it  decreases ; 
where  it  has  not  been  long,  there  it  increases.  It 
reigned  most  heretofore  in  alleys,  &c.  now  it  domineers 
in  the  open  streets.  The  poorer  sort  was  most  afflicted ; 
now  the  richer  bear  a  share. 

Captain  Colchester  is  dead.  Fleetham  and  all  his 
family  are  clearly  swept  away,  except  one  maid.  Dr. 
Burnett,  Dr.  Glover,  and  one  or  two  more  of  the 
College  of  Physicians,  with  Dr.  O'  Dowd,  which  was 
licensed  by  my  Lord's  Grace  of  Canterbury,  some  sur- 
geons, apothecaries,  and  Johnson  the  chemist,  died  all 
very  suddenly.  Some  say  (but  God  forbid  that  I 
should  report  it  for  truth)  that  these,  in  a  consultation 
together,  if  not  all,  yet  the  greatest  part  of  them, 
attempted  to  open  a  dead  corpse  which  was  full  of  the 
tokens;  and  being  in  hand  with  the  dissected  body, 
some  fell  down  dead  immediately,  and  others  did  not 
outlive  the  next  day  at  noon. 

All  is  well  and  in  safety  at  your  house,  God  be 
thanked.  Upon  Tuesday  last  I  made  it  my  day's  work 
to  kindle  fires  in  every  room  of  tiie  house  where  I  could 


OO  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

do  it,  and  aired  all  the  bedclothes  and  bedding  at  the 
fires,  and  so  let  them  all  lie  abroad  until  this  morning; 
the  feather  bed  in  the  back  chamber  was  almost  spoiled 
with  the  heavy  weight  of  carpets  and  other  things  upon 
it.  I  am  afraid  I  have  been  too  tedious,  and  therefore 
beg  your  pardon  and  take  my  leave,  who  am. 
Reverend  Sir, 
your  most  faithful  humble  servant, 

JO.    TILLISON. 

Brimstone,  hops,  pepper,  and  frankincense,  &c.  I  use 
to  fume  the  rooms  with. 
For  yourself. 


LETTER  CCCXVI. 


King  Charles  the  Second  to  the  Duke  of  Ormond,  con- 
cerning the  dismissal  of  Lord  Chancellor  Hyde. 

[mS.  DONAT.  MUS.  BRIT.  6407.  4.   FROM  THE  OHg.  IN  THE  POSSES- 
SION OF  SIR  GEORGE  CLARKE.] 

*^*  Eachard  alludes  to  this  Letter  in  his  History.  He  says,  "As  to 
tlie  private  reasons  of  the  King's  abandoning  the  Chancellor,  His  Majesty 
wrote  an  obliging  Letter  to  the  Duke  of  Ormond,  then  in  Ireland,  to  give 
him  satisfaction  in  that  matter ;  as  knowing  him  to  be  his  intimate  friend. 
The  Letter  was  never  yet  published,  nor  would  a  Copy  of  it  be  granted ; 
but  I  have  more  than  once  been  told  the  substance  of  it  by  those  who 
have  read  it ;  and  the  principal  reason  there  given  by  the  King  was,  the 
Chancellor'' s  insupportable  temper.'''' " 

That  the  Chancellor  had  grown  a  little  peevish,  we  have  an  instance  in 
Pepys's  Memoirs.     Nevertheless  the  true  reason  of  the  King's  discarding 

•  Kat-h.  Hist.  Kngl.  vol.  ii.  |i.  19«. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


'6r 


him  was,  that  his  integrity  had  become  hateful  to  the  bufibons  of  a  licen. 
tious  Court,  who  feared  him  as  a  monitor.  Their  banter  and  mimicry, 
aided  by  female  solicitation,  at  last  induced  the  King  to  part  both  from 
his  person  and  his  services.  Granger  justly  observes  that  the  virtue  of 
the  Earl  of  Clarendon  was  of  too  stubborn  a  nature  for  the  Age  of  Charles 
the  Second. 

When  he  was  going  firom  Court,  upon  his  resignation  of  the  Great 
Seal,  the  Dutchess  of  Cleveland  insulted  him  from  a  window  of  the  Palace. 
He  turned  roUnd  and  said  calmly,  '  Madam,  if  you  live  you  will  grow 
old.' 


Whitehall,  15*.  Sept. 
I  SHOULD  have  thanked  you  sooner  for  your  melan- 
choly letter  of  26  *'.  Aug.  and  the  good  counsel  you 
gave  me  in  it,  as  my  purpose  was  also  to  say  something 
to  you  concerning  my  taking  the  Seals  from  the  Chan- 
cellor; of  which  you  must  needs  have  heard  all  the 
passages,  since  he  would  not  suffer  it  to  be  done  so 
privately  as  I  intended  it ;  the  truth  is,  his  behaviour 
and  humour  was  grown  so  unsupportable  to  myself, 
and  to  all  the  world  else,  that  I  could  not  longer  en- 
dure it,  and  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  live  with  it 
and  do  those  things  with  the  Parliament  that  must  be 
done,  or  the  Government  will  be  lost.  When  I  have 
a  better  opportunity  for  it,  you  shall  know  many  par- 
ticulars that  have  inclined  me  to  this  resolution,  which 
already  seems  to  be  well  liked  in  the  world,  and  to 
have  given  a  real  and  visible  amendment  to  my  affairs. 
This  is  an  Argument  too  big  for  a  Letter ;  so  I  will 
add  but  this  word  to  it,  to  assure  you  that  your  former 
friendship  to  the  Chancellor  shall  not  do  you  any  pre- 
judice with  me,  and  that  I  have  not  in  the  least  degree 


40  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

diminished  that  value  and  kindness  I  ever  had  for  you, 
which  I  thought  fit  to  say  to  you  upon  this  occasion, 
because  it  is  very  possible  malicious  people  may  sug- 
gest the  contrary  to  you. 


C. 


To  my  Lord  Lieutenant. 

Endorsed 


"  The  Kings. 

at  Kilkenny 

Answered  2  Oct.  67. 


LETTER  CCCXVII. 

Dr.  George  Hickes  to  Dr.  Patrick.     The  State  of 
Affairs  in  Scotland. 

[MS.  LANSD.  988.  fol.  156.] 


Edinburgh,  December  8 1'.  77. 
Sir, 

The  inclosed  is  an  account  of  the  present  state  of 

Affairs  in  this  Kingdom,  and  of  that  effectual  course 

my  Lord  Duke'*  hath  taken  to  reduce  the  insolent 

fanatics.     It  is  sent  to  my  Lord  Bishop  of  Rochester 

from  my  Lord  Bishop  of  Galloway,  who  is  a  great 

support  to  this  Church,  and  a  very  faithful  friend  and 

counsellor  to  my  Lord.    I  have  formerly  told  you  how 

•  The  Duke  of  Lauderdale. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS,  41 

the  fanatics  have  been  under-hand  encouraged  to  this 
height  of  insolence  by  some  mal-content  Lords,  and 
therefore  to  particularise  the  general  information  of 
the  inclosed,  I  have  sent  you  the  names  of  the  most 
considerable  and  mischievous  of  them  in  the  several 
divisions,  where  the  fanatics  of  late  have  made  so 
much  stir.  In  the  country  of  Fife  the  Earl  of  Rothes, 
(the  present  Lord  Chancellor)  and  the  Earl  of  Kin- 
cardine are  chief,  whereof  the  former  hath  been  the 
most  false  and  the  latter  the  most  ungrateful  man  to 
my  Lord  that  ever  was  born.  In  Clydesdale  the  Duke 
of  Hamilton,  Sheriff  of  the  Shire.  In  Carriet  the  Earl 
of  Cassils,  Sheriff  of  the  Shire.  In  Tiviotdale  the  Earl 
of  Roxborough  ;  and  in  Tweedale  his  father-in-law  the 
Earl  of  Tweedale,  Sheriff.  In  the  Stewartry  of  Kir- 
kubright,  which  containeth  the  east  part  of  Galloway, 
the  Earl  of  Queensbury  and  the  Earl  of  Galloway  ;  and 
in  Stirlingshire  and  about  Lithgow  the  Earl  of  Cal- 
lender  and  Major-general  Drummond. 

These  are  the  chief  of  the  party,  and  though  all  of 
them  be  not  fanatics  professed,  yet  those  that  are 
not,  forgetting  their  duty  to  their  Prince  and  the  esta- 
blished government  of  the  Church,  take  this  wicked 
course  of  fomenting  the  fanatic  faction  (if  it  could 
be  to  rebel)  because  (forsooth)  they  have  not  the  chief 
administration  of  affairs.  They  are  now  most  of  theui 
with  their  adherents  in  the  town,  and  daily  club  to- 
l^ether  to  raise  lies  and  disperse   them  about   both 


42  OEIGINAL    LETTERS. 

Kingdoms,  and  all  the  ways  imaginable  to  debauch 
the  military  and  gentry  (though  God  be  thanked  with 
little  success)  from  their  duty  to  his  Majesty,  and  make 
them  have  an  ill  opinion  of  my  Lord. 

From  this  account  you  may  see  what  great  reason 
my  Lord  D.  had  not  to  undertake  the  reduction  of 
the  forementioned  Countries  till  he  had  procured  the 
English  and  Irish  Forces  to  be  in  readiness,  in  case 
there  should  be  occasion.  For  had  he  sent  the  small 
forces  we  have  here  among  them  before,  they  would 
have  been  encouraged  to  rise  by  their  foresaid  patriots, 
whereof  some  wish  the  ruin  of  the  Church,  and  all  of 
them  the  ruin  of  my  Lord  Duke.  And  notwithstand- 
ing the  preparations  that  my  Lord  hath  made  against 
them,  yet  the  mad  rabble  think  themselves  secure, 
having  received  private  information  from  their  patriots 
that  they  will  undertake  their  protection  till  Spring, 
which  whether  they  can  do  or  no  must  be  proved  by 
the  event.  My  Lord,  you  may  assure  all  the  world, 
will  not  let  slip  this  opportunity  of  doing  God  and  the 
Church,  the  King  and  his  Country,  all  that  Service 
which  a  most  loyal  subject,  faithful  minister,  and 
zealous  Churchman  can  be  imagined  to  do.  And  yet 
the  Lords  of  the  party  had  so  far  insinuated  them- 
selves into  the  clergy  as  to  make  some  of  them  suspect 
his  sincerity  to  the  Church  ;  this  I  found  every  where 
in  the  late  tours  I  made  about  the  country,  and  I 
think  I  was  more  capable  then  any  other  single  man 


ORIGINAL    LETTEllS.  43 

to  cure  their  jealousies,  wherewith  some  Bishops  were 
but  too  much  possessed,  till  I  conjured  them  to  believe 
that  if  my  Lord  were  not  true  to  the  Church,  I  would 
not  tarry  with  him  three  days. 

My  Lord  hath  taken  care  to  hinder  the  French 
Officers  from  levying  recruits  in  this  Kingdom,  which 
I  hope  will  be  acceptable  news  in  England  to  all  but 
those  that  would  have  him  reputed  of  the  French 
faction ;  because  it  is  so  odious  a  character  in  our 
country.  You  cannot  well  imagine  what  daily  pains 
and  troubles  he  undergoes  here,  what  knotty  businesses 
he  is  to  go  through,  and  yet  how  cheerful,  serene,  and 
undisturbed  he  is,  as  if  he  had  neither  enemies,  nor 
any  thing  to  do. 

In  your  last  you  desired  me  td  give  you  an  account 
of  the  breaking  of  the  contract  between  my  Lady 
Catherine  and  the  Marquis  of  AthoFs  eldest  son.  The 
pretended  reason  of  the  Marquis  and  Marchioness 
was  this,  that  upon  taking  a  more  particular  account 
of  the  lands  and  debts,  they  could  not  make  gtxxl  the 
conditions  in  the  contract,  and  so  desired  it  might  be 
nulled.  This  was  the  pretended,  but  what  were  the 
real  reasons  time  will  discover,  and  hereafter  I  shall  be 
able  to  give  you  better  information.  But  the  young 
Lady  lost  nothing  by  it,  for  the  news  of  the  broken 
contract  was  no  sooner  gone  abroad  but  my  Lady  had 
match  upon  match  proffered  from  the  best  of  the  No- 
bility, who  knew  the  worth  and  virtues  of  the  young 


44  ORIGIKAL    LETTERS. 

Lady,  in  particular  from  a  very  great  Peer  of  this 
Kingdom,  the  Earl  of  Murray,  for  his  eldest  son  my 
Lord  Downes,  who  is  a  person  far  preferable  to  the 
Marquis's  son,  and  with  whom  she  is  to  have  far 
more  honourable  conditions.  Pray  when  you  deliver 
the  inclosed,  present  my  most  humble  duty  to  my  Lord 
Bishop  and  read  mine  to  him.  This  is  all  from 
Your  most  affectionate  friend 
and  humble  servant, 

GEO.  HICKES. 

I  forgot  to  tell  you  that  the  Marquis  of  Athol  bears 
the  blame  of  the  breach  of  the  contract  even  among 
his  own  relations ;  and  that  my  Lady  and  her  daughter 
received  the  news  of  it  with  incomparable  temper.  The 
Earl  of  Murray  is  a  good  churchman. 

To  the  Reverend  Dr.  Patrick,  in  the 
Cloister  of  Westminster  Abbey. 


ORTGIXAL    LETTERS.  45 

LETTER  CCCXVIII. 

Dr.  Hickes  to  Dr.  Patrick  upon  the  same. 

[ms.  lansd.  988.  fol.  161  b.  Orig.] 


Edinburgh,  Jan.  24^»'.  7|. 
Sir, 

Your  last  I  received  and  showed  it  to  my  Lord 

Duke  and  Lord  Bishop,  that  they  might  see  how  much 

they  were  beholden  to  you,  and  I  assure  you  they 

were  very  sensible  of  your  kindness,  as  you  will  find 

if  ever  you  and  they  meet. 

Last  Monday  his  Majesty'^s  forces  marched  from 
hence  into  the  west,  and  to-morrow  the  auxiliary  forces 
follow  them.  There  is  with  them  a  Committee  of  the 
Privy  Council,  which  have  as  much  power  as  the 
Privy  Council  itself,  as  you  have,  I  hope,  seen  in  that 
Act  of  Council  which  I  sent  Mr.  Smith,  and  which  I 
desired  him  to  communicate  to  you.  I  hope  by  the 
next  to  send  you  their  Instructions  at  large,  that  you 
may  see  with  what  wisdom  our  proceedings  have  been 
contrived. 

I  have  something  yet  left  to  say  of  Michell,  to 
whom  five  hundred  dollars  were  presented  from  several 
hands,  between  his  sentence  and  execution,  to  fulfil 
that  promise,  "  yet  never  saw  I  the  righteous  forsaken, 
nor  his  seed  begging  their  bread." 


46 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


Within  tliis  week  several  ladies  of  great  quality 
kept  a  private  fast  and  a  Conventicle  in  this  Town,  to 
seek  God  to  bring  to  nought  the  councils  of  men  against 
his  people;  and  before  they  parted,  all  subscribed  a 
paper  wherein  they  covenanted  to  the  utmost  of  their 
power  to  engage  their  Lords  to  assist  and  protect 
God's  people  against  the  devices  (as  they  call  all  ex- 
pedients) that  are  taken  to  reduce  them  to  order  and 
obedience.  Hereafter  I  will  send  you  their  names, 
but  as  yet  I  have  given  my  word  not  to  discover  them. 

Last  night  we  received  information  that  Sunday 
was  se"'nnight,  or  some  day  last  week,  Welsh  told  a 
vast  congregation  of  his  Western  disciples,  that  they 
should  certainly  be  hanged,  when  the  forces  came 
amongst  them ;  and  that  therefore  it  was  far  better  to 
resist  and  fight  the  Lord's  battles  with  their  swords 
in  their  hands,  and  that  thereupon  they  resolved  to 
rebel,  and  in  order  thereto  rendezvous  this  day  in  the 
Stewartry  of  Galloway.  We  all  wish  it  may  be  true, 
but  I  am  afraid  it  is  not,  although  nothing  but  despair 
of  success  can  make  them  forbear ;  I  wish  they  would 
try,  as  they  did  in  1666,  whether  God  would  work 
miracles  for  them  or  no. 

You  shall  hear  as  soon  as  any  what  the  event  of  this 
expedition  will  be.  Many  of  the  fanatical  party  and 
their  patrons  hope  that  the  Commons  of  England  (who 
they  think  are  ready  to  dance  to  any  tune  they  will 
play)  will  grow  jealous  of  these  military  proceedings, 


OHIGIXAI.    LETTERS.  47 

and  engage  his  Majesty  to  dislike  them,  and  substitute 
another  in  the  Duke's  stead ;  and  therefore  you  must 
expect  to  hear  a  thousand  lying  stories  and  misrepre- 
sentations of  what  is  done  here. 

If  you  have  not  yet  received  the  Act  of  Council  from 

Mr.  Smith,  pray  send  for  it  (for  it  is  necessary  to  make 

you  rightly  understand  all  the  future  news  that  will 

depend  thereupon).     Let  this  suffice  at  present  from 

Your  most  faithful  friend  and  servant, 

GEORGE    HICKES. 

For  Dr.  Patrick, 
in  the  Cloister  of  Westminster  Abbey. 


LETTER  CCCXIX. 
Dr.  Hickes  to  Dr.  Patrick.     MicheWs  Tr'ml. 

[MS.  LANSD.  988.  fol.  162  b.  Orig.] 


Edinburgh,  Jan.  10^<'.  7f 
Sir, 

I  RECEIVED  two  Letters  from  you  since  the  entrance 

of  the  New  Year,  and  am  very  sensible  how  much  you 

press  yourself  to  keep  correspondence  with  me ;  but  I 

am  the  most  inconsiderable  person  you  oblige  by  so 

doing,  and  therefore  you  must  not  grow  weary,  but 

hold  out  now  to  the  end. 


48  OUIOTNAL    LETTERS. 

***** 

I  promised  you  in  one  of  my  late  letters  to  give  you 
an  account  of  Mr.  MichelFs  trial,  who  was  arraigned 
for  an  attempt  he  made  on  the  person  of  the  Archbishop 
of  St.  Andrews  by  shooting  at  him  in  his  coach  with  a 
great  pistol  charged  with  three  bullets,  which  hit  the 
Bishop  of  Orkney  on  the  arm,  as  he  was  getting  into 
the  archbishop*'s  coach.  This  barbarous  fact  was  done 
^bout  nine  years  ago,  about  two  years  after  the  Rebel- 
lion of  Pentland  Hills  in  the  year  1666.  Immediately 
after  the  fact  he  escaped,  and  was  in  Holland,  Eng- 
land, and  Ireland,  for  five  years,  and  at  last  came  into 
Scotland  again,  where  he  married,  and  after  marriage 
took  a  shop  (where  his  wife  pretended  to  sell  brandy, 
&c.)  under  the  Archbishop's  lodgings  in  Edinburgh, 
with  a  design  to  assassinate  him  again.  But  being 
known  he  was  seized.  There  were  two  charged  pis- 
tols found  upon  him,  and  when  the  Archbishop  saw 
him  first,  among  many  others,  he  knew  him  perfectly 
after  five  years,  although  he  had  never  seen  him  but 
when  he  shot  at  him.  After  he  was  seized  he  was 
brought  before  the  Council,  where  my  Lord  sat  as 
Commissioner,  when  he  was  last  in  Scotland  four  years 
since.  The  Council  appointed  a  Committee  to  exa- 
mine him,  before  which  he  confessed  the  fact,  and 
afterwards  owned  the  confession  before  the  Lord  Com- 
missioner and  the  Council,  which  was  registered,  and 
witnessed  by  his  own  hand,  and  the  hands  of  several 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  40. 

counsellors ;  which  confession  was  now  brought  against 
him  at  the  bar.  He  was  not  prosecuted  then,  because 
the  Archbishop  would  not  pursue  him  in  Causa  San- 
guinis, and  the  King's  Advocate  being  a  fanatic  would 
not,  but  the  Council  sent  him  prisoner  to  the  Basse  (an 
island  in  the  Forth),  where  he  hath  been  kept  ever 
since.     Since  my  Lord  came  hither  he  got  his  Majesty 

to   remove   this   advocate   (whose  name  is  Sir  

Nisbet)  and  Sir  George  Mackenzie  (almost  the  only 
great  man  of  this  country)  was  made  his  Majesty's 
advocate  in  his  stead,  who  upon  my  Lord's  moving, 
and  the  Council's,  pursued  him  like  a  gallant  man  and 
a  good  Christian,  and  not  without  much  difficulty,  and 
great  pains,  (so  hard  it  is,  and  dangerous  too,  to  pur- 
sue a  bloody  Saint  to  the  last  justice  here)  hath  got 
justice  done  on  him ;  for  this  afternoon  at  two  o'clock 
he  was  condemned  to  be  hanged  the  13th  of  this  instant, 
in  the  Grass  Market  of  Edinburgh. 

His  trial  lasted  three  days ;  I  was  always  present ; 
and  many  preliminary  debates  there  were  which  I  can- 
not make  a  stranger  understand.  At  last  all  the  dila- 
tory exceptions  being  answered,  the  Jury  was  impan- 
nelled  and  the  witnesses  sworn  ;  the  depositions  of  some 
of  which  I  shall  here  relate. 

The  keeper  of  the  Tolbooth's  son  (for  so  they  call 

the  Prison  here)  deposed,  that  having  asked  him  how 

he  could  do  such  a  barbarous  action  in  cold  blood 

against  a  man  that  had  done  him  no  wrong,  he  an- 

VOL.  IV.    SER.  2.  E 


50  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

swered,  it  was  not  done  in  cold  blood,  for  the  blood 
of  the  Saints  is  still  reeking  at  the  Cross  in  Edin- 
burgh ;  by  the  Saints  he  meant  the  Rebels  that  were 
hanged  and  beheaded  in  that  place  for  the  Rebellion 
in  66. 

The  Bishop  of  Galloway  deposed,  that  he  confessed 
to  him  when  he  asked  him  the  reason  why  he  did  it, 
that  it  was  because  the  Archbishop  was  an  enemy  to 
the  people  of  God. 

My  Lord  Hatton,  my  Lord  Duke'^s  brother,  deposed 
that  having  asked  him  upon  his  confession  why  he  did 
it,  that  he  answered,  because  the  Archbishop  was  an 
enemy  to  the  godly  people  in  the  West,  who  rebelled 
in  66,  and  were  the  beginners  of  all  the  late  disorders 
here. 

These  and  all  the  other  depositions  I  heard.  This 
barbarous  assassinate  is  commended  as  heroic,  and 
compared  to  the  act  of  Phineas  in  Naphtali ;  and  in 
Jus  Populi  vindicatum,  which  is  an  answer  to  Naphtali 
written  by  the  Bishop  of  Orkney  that  was  wounded  in 
the  Rebellion  in  66,  and  this  fact  against  St,  Andrews 
as  a  covenant  breaker  are  both  defended ;  but  I  sup- 
pose you  have  read  the  books. 

Since  this  presbyterian  Ravaillac  was  brought  to 
town,  notice  was  sent  to  the  Archbishop  from  the  west, 
that  if  he  were  condemned,  many  others  were  resolved 
to  do  the  same,  so  that  the  poor  man  is  not  without 
just  fear. 


ORTGIXAL    I.KTTF.RS.  51 

You  cannot  imagine  how  the  presbyterian  party, 
especially  the  women,  were  concerned  for  him ;  the 
court  was  full  of  disaffected  villains,  and  because  of  my 
habit  and  profession  I  had  many  affronts  done  me ;  for 
sitting  on  high  with  my  back  towards  that  side  of  the 
court  where  the  zealous  rabble  were  gathered  together, 
near  the  bar  at  which  the  prisoner  stood,  they  railed 
at  my  black  coat,  for  so  they  called  my  gown,  and  be- 
spit it  all  over,  and  pelted  me  now  and  then  with  such 
things  as  bits  of  apple  and  crusts  of  bread. 

Upon  the  preparation  of  the  forces,  Fife  hath 
already  submitted  ;  for  all  the  heritors  and  life-renters 
have  agreed  together  to  give  in  bonds  to  the  Coun- 
cil for  their  own  and  tenants'"  peaceable  demeanour ; 
and  on  the  15''>  instant  they  will  be  all  given  in 
to  the  Lord  Chancellor,  and  by  him  to  the  Council. 
But  the  Saints  of  the  West  are  as  impudent  as  ever, 
believing,  and  declaring  to  believe,  that  God  will  find 
a  way  to  defeat  the  counsel  of  his  and  their  enemies ; 
and  since  Christmas  they  seized  on  six  Parish  Churches, 
and  have  appointed  clerks  and  other  officers  of  their 
own  ;  but  within  fourteen  days  they  will  find  what  they 
will  not  believe. 

I  now  long  to  be  in  England  to  finish  that  discourse 
I  formerly  told  you  of,  of  which  I  see  by  the  people  in 
this  country  there  is  so  much  need :  I  mean  that  of 
which  you  heard  an  abstract  at  the  Abbey,  founded  on 
the  notion  of  the  theocracy.     I  study  here  not  as  I 

E  2 


52  OKIGINAL    LETTERS. 

would  but  as  I  can,  and  my  study  doth  me  not  half  so 
much  good,  as  if  I  had  my  own  books  and  methods. 
Pray  present  my  service  to  Dr.  Oughtram  and  Mrs. 
Oughtram,  and  your  own  lady.  I  wish  myself  often 
among  you,  and  I  wish  myself  no  greater  happiness  in 
this  world  than  always  to  be  in  your  neighbourhood. 
My  Lord  Duke  often  remembers  you  and  your  bro- 
ther :  pray  send  me  a  particular  account  of  your  de- 
livering the  Bishop  of  Gloucester''s  letter  to  the  Bishop 
of  Rochester.  God  send  us  a  happy  meeting.  I  am 
Your  most  affectionate  friend  and 
humble  servant, 

GEORGE    HICKES. 
For  the  Rev.  Dr.  Patrick, 
or  Dr.  Oughtram, 
in  the  Cloister  of  Westminster  Abbey. 


LETTER  CCCXX. 


Dr.  Hickes  to  Dr.  Patrick.     MicheWs  Sentence  and 
Execution. 

[MS.  LANSD.  988.  foL  166.] 


Edinburgh,  Jan.  19,  7|^. 
Sir, 

I  SEND  this  letter  as  a  Supplement  to  the  story  of 

Michell  which  I  sent  you  before.     When  the  sentence 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  53 

of  death  was  pronounced  against  him,  he  told  the 
Judges  he  received  it  as  from  God,  but  not  from  them. 
The  next  day  after,  he  said  he  would  do  it  if  it  were 
to  do  again,  and  sent  to  the  Archbishop  to  desire  that 
one  or  more  of  the  imprisoned  ministers  might  be  per- 
mitted to  come  and  give  him  comfort.  Upon  which  a 
minister  of  the  town  was  sent  to  him,  but  he  refused 
to  discourse  with  him  otherwise  than  by  reproaching 
of  him ;  calling  of  him  a  murderer  of  souls,  and  bid- 
ding him  repent  of  the  blood  of  souls,  when  he  went  to 
press  upon  his  conscience  the  horridness  of  the  bloody 
fact  for  which  he  was  condemned  by  men,  and  of 
which  without  repentance  he  would  stand  guilty  before 
the  tribunal  of  God. 

The  Dean  of  Edinburgh,  Mr.  Annand,  also  wrote 
a  letter  exhortatory  to  him,  wherein  from  many  texts 
of  the  Gospel  he  endeavoured  to  convince  him  how 
contradictory  his  principles  and  practices  were  to  the 
doctrine  of  Christianity;  to  which  he  returned  this 
answer : 

«  Sir, 

I  received  yours,  and  since  my  time  is  so  very  short 
and  so  very  precious,  I  can  only  thank  you  for  your 
civility  and  affection,  whether  real  or  pretended ;  and 
tell  you  that  I  fully  close  with  all  the  precepts  of  the 
Gospel  to  love  and  peace,  and  therefore  pray  I  Ixjth 
for  Mr.  Sharp  and  you  ;  but  knowing  both  Mr.  Sharp's 
wickedness,  my  own  sincerity,  and  the  Lord's  holy 


54  ORIGINAL    LETTEKS. 

sovereignty  to  use  his  creatures  as  he  pleases,  I  can 
only  refer  the  manifestation  of  my  fact  to  the  day 
of  God's  righteous  and  universal  judgment ;  praying 
heartily  that  God  may  have  mercy  on  you,  and  open 
your  eyes  to  see  both  the  wickedness  of  all  your  ways, 
and  of  your  godless  insulting  over  an  unjustly  con- 
demned dying  man,  and  grant  unto  you  repentance 
and  remission  of  your  sin.     I  am  in  this 

Your  well-wisher, 

JAMES    M.'"* 

Having  heard  that  he  would  not  be  permitted  to 
speak  to  the  people  at  his  Execution  (which  was  yester- 
day between  two  and  four  in  the  afternoon)  he  prepared 
several  copies  of  a  written  speech,  one  whereof  being 
found  in  his  pocket  was  brought  to  my  Lord.  It  is 
long,  and  the  first  part  containing  nothing  but  calumny 
and  railing  against  the  Privy  Council  and  his  Judges. 
I  shall  transcribe  only  the  latter  end. 

"  I  acknowledge  my  particular  and  private  sins  have 
been  such  as  have  merited  a  worse  death  unto  me,  but 
I  die,  in  the  hope  of  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ  to  be 
freed  from  those  eternal  punishments  due  to  me  for 
sin.  Yet  I  am  confident  God  doth  not  plead  with  me 
in  this  place  for  my  private  and  particular  sins ;  but  I 
am  brought  here  that  the  work  of  God  may  be  made 
manifest,  and  for  the  trial  of  faith  (John,  chap.  ix. 
ver.  3.  Pet.  chap.  i.  ver.  7.),  and  that  I  may  be  a  wit- 
ness for  his  despised  truth  and  interest  in  this  land. 


OIllGlNAL    LliTTEKS.  55 

who  am  called  to  seal  the  same  with  my  blood ;  and  I 
wish  heartily  that  this  my  poor  life  may  put  an  end  to 
the  persecution  of  the  true  members  of  Christ  in  this 
kingdom,  so  much  actuated  by  these  perfidious  prelates, 
and  ill  opposition  to  whom,  and  in  testmiony  of  the 
cause  of  Christ,  I  at  this  time  willingly  lay  down  my 
life,  and  bless  God  that  he  hath  thought  me  so  much 
worthy  as  to  do  the  same  for  his  glory  and  interest. 

*'  Finally  concerning  a  Christian  duty  in  a  singular 
or  extraordinary  case,  anent  my  particular  judgment 
concerning  both  Church  and  State,  it  is  evidently  de- 
clared and  manifested  more  fully  elsewhere.  So  fare- 
well all  earthly  enjoyments,  and  welcome  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Spirit,  into  whose  hands  I  commit  my  spirit. 

JAMES  MICHELL.'" 

The  other  copies  he  had  in  a  Psalm-book,  and  when 
the  Psalm  was  sung  threw  them  about. 

By  Mr.  Sharp  in  his  Letter  to,  Mr.  Annand,  he 
means  the  Archbishop,  whom  he  attempted ;  and  con- 
cerning his  judgment,  which  in  his  speech  he  saith  is 
manifested  more  clear  elsewhere,  he  means  Naphtali. 
I  forgot  in  my  last  to  tell  you,  that  he  was  sometime 
chaplain  to  Sir  Arch.  Johnston,  called  here  Laird  of 
Wareston,  who  was  president  of  the  Committee  of 
Safety,  and  hanged  for  a  traitor  at  Edinburgh. 

Lastly,  I  here  send  you  a  copy  of  a  letter  of  a  silly 
ridiculous  minister,  who  renounced  this  church,  and 


56 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


apostatized  to  the  Whigs,  whose  martyr  Michell  is.  I 
desire  you  to  keep  all  my  letters  and  papers  concerning 
these  illiterate  and  bloody  villains.  Mr.  Smith,  the 
secretary's  chaplain,  will  bring  you  an  Act  of  the  Privy 
Council  which  I  pray  you  to  get  transcribed,  and 
communicate  as  much  as  you  can  to  satisfy  all  rea- 
sonable men  with  our  proceedings  against  these  bloody 
rebellious  saints.  I  would  have  sent  you  it,  but  am 
weary  with  writing  many  things,  which  makes  me 
scribble  so  ill.  I  always  suppose  you  remember  me  to 
your  neighbour,  and  communicate  to  him  the  Letters 
of  him  who  is  entirely  yours. 

GEORGE  HICKES. 

The  Day  of  Execution,  there  was  a  report  that  the 
women  of  Edinburgh  (my  good  friends)  had  a  design 
to  rescue  the  malefactor,  which  made  the  Lord  Provost 
bring  a  company  of  the  town  forces  to  the  place  of 
execution,  to  prevent  any  such  design. 

A  gentleman  is  come  in,  who  assures  me  that  there 
are  several  epitaphs  made  upon  him,  whereof  one  was 
found  this  morning  at  the  great  Cross,  and  the  other 
upon  the  door  that  lets  up  the  stairs  which  lead  to  the 
Council  Chamber  in  the  Parhament  House.  He  tells 
me  also  they  put  epitaphs  on  his  coffin  when  he  was 
carried  to  the  grave. 

To  the  Rev.  Dr.  Patrick. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  57 


LETTER  CCCXXI. 

Mr.  Henry  Savill  to  Ms  uncle  Secretary  Coventry. 

[MS.  HARt.  7001.  aH.  180.] 

*,♦  This  Letter  is  introduced  to  the  Reader  from  the  mention  which 
it  makes  of  Tea.  It  appears  from  its  evidence,  that  so  late  as  1678 
Tea  was  not  universally  used  in  English  families  either  as  a  constant  or 
a  common  beverage.  It  even  complains  of  persons  "  who  call  for  Tea 
instead  of  Pipes  and  Bottles  after  dinner :"  designating  it  as  "a  hate 
unworthy  Indian  practice." 

Macpherson,  in  his  History  of  the  European  Commerce  with  India, 
says  that  Tea  is  mentioned  as  the  usual  beverage  of  the  Chinese  by 
Soliman  an  Arabian  Physician,  who  wrote  an  account  of  his  Travels  in 
the  East  as  early  as  the  year  850.  But  we  have  no  reason  to  believe  that 
Tea  was  brought  to  the  Western  parts  of  the  World  for  many  succeeding 
ages ;  not  the  slightest  mention  of  it  being  found  in  the  work  of  any 
European  author  earlier  than  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  most  credible  conjecture  of  its  Introduction  is,  that  it  was  one  of 
the  articles  purchased  by  the  Portuguese  when  that  people  were  first  per- 
mitted by  the  Government  of  China  to  trade  to  Sancian. 

Waller,  in  his  Complimentary  Verses  to  King  Charles  the  Second 
upon  his  Majesty's  Marriage,  expressly  owns  our  obligations  to  the 
Portuguese  for  its  introduction  into  England : 

The  best  of  Queens,  and  lot  of  Herbs  we  owe 
To  that  hold  Nation  who  the  way  did  show 
To  the  fair  Region  where  thie  Sun  doth  rise. 
Whose  rich  productions  we  so  justly  prize. 

The  first  autlientic  notice  which  Macpherson  quotes  of  Tea  as  an  article 
of  consumption  in  England  is  in  the  Act  of  Parliament  of  the  12th 
Charles  lld.  c  13.  A.  D.  1660,  whereby  a  duty  of  eight  pence  is  charged 
upon  every  gallon  of  chocolate,  sherbet,  and  Tea  made  for  sale ;  while 
the  same  quantity  of  Coffee  and  even  of  foreign  spirituous  liquors  is 
charged  at  only  four|)ence. 

Macpherson  states  that  the  earliest  importation  of  Tea  by  tlie  East 
India  Company  from  any  part  of  the  Indies,  was  in  1669,  when  they 


5S  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

received  from  Bantam  two  canisters  containing  a  hundred  and  forty-three 
pounds  and  a  half ;  for  it  does  not  appear,  he  adds,  that  they  had  as  yet 
any  direct  intercourse  with  China  the  native  country  of  Tea.  This 
trifling  quantity  was  partly  given  away  in  presents,  and  partly  expended 
in  the  East  India  House  for  the  refreshment  of  the  Committee. 

In  1678  (the  year  in  which  the  present  Letter  is  dated),  the  East 
India  Company  began  the  importation  of  Tea  as  a  branch  of  Trade ;  the 
quantity  received  at  that  time  amounting  to  four  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred and  thirteen  pounds.  The  importation  gradually  enlarged,  and  the 
Government,  in  consequence,  augmented  the  duties  upon  Tea.  By  the 
year  I7OO  the  importation  of  Tea  had  arrived  at  the  quantity  of  twenty 
thousand  pounds.  In  1721  it  exceeded  a  million  of  pounds.  In  1816 
it  had  arrived  at  36,234,380/i*.  Something  more  than  thirty  millions  of 
pounds  is  probably  the  present  average  of  importation :  some  allowance 
must  be  made  for  Tea  damaged  and  spoiled  upon  the  passage. 

An  earlier  testimony  of  the  Introduction  of  Tea  into  England  than 
that  which  Macpherson  advances  is  found  in  a  single  Sheet,  preserved 
in  Sir  Hans  Sloane's  Library  now  in  the  British  Museum,  of  the  time 
of  the  Usurpation.  It  is  as  follows.  In  the  mode  recommended  for 
gathering  the  Tea  in  leaf;  in  the  great  assemblage  of  its  virtues  when 
gathered  and  prepared  for  use ;  and  in  the  price  which  it  originally  brought 
in  England,  the  reader  will  find  some  room  for  astonishment. 

"  An  exact  Description  of  the  groteth,  quality,  and  vertues  of  the 
Leaf  THiA  by  Thomas  Garway  in  Exchange-Alley  near  the  Royal 
Exchange  in  London,  Tobacconist,  and  Seller  and  Retailer  of  Tea  and 
Coffee. 

"  Tea  is  generally  brought  from  China,  and  groweth  there  upon  little 
Shrubs  or  Bushes,  the  branches  whereof  are  well  garnished  with  white 
Flowers  that  are  yellow  within,  of  the  bigness  and  fashion  of  sweet-brier, 
but  in  smell  unlike,  bearing  thin  green  leaves  about  the  bigness  of 
Scordium,  Mirtle,  or  Sumack,  and  is  judged  to  be  a  kind  of  Sumack. 
This  Plant  hath  been  reported  to  grow  wild  only,  but  doth  not,  for  they 
plant  it  in  their  Gardens  about  four  foot  distance,  and  it  groweth  about 
four  foot  high,  and  of  the  Seeds  they  maintain  and  increase  their  stock. 
Of  all  places  in  China  this  Plant  groweth  in  greatest  plenty  in  the  Pro- 
vince of  Xemsi,  I^atitude  36  degrees,  bordering  upon  the  West  of  the 
Province  of  Honam  j  and  in  the  Province  of  Namking  near  the  City  of 
Lucheu,  there  is  likewise  of  the  growth  of  Sinam,  Cochin-China,  the 
Island  de  Ladrones,  and  Japan,  and  is  called  Cha.  Of  this  famous 
Leaf  there  are  divers  sorts  (though  aU  of  one  shape),  some  much  better 
than  other,  the  upper  leaves  excelling  the  other  in  fineness,  a  property 
almost  in  all  Plants ;  which  leaves  they  gather  every  day,  and  drying 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS.  59 

them  in  the  shade,  or  on  iron  pans  over  a  gentle  fire  till  the  humidity  be 
exhausted,  then  put  them  up  close  in  leaden  pots,  and  preserve  them  for 
their  Drink  Tea,  which  is  used  at  meals,  and  upon  all  Visits  and  Enter- 
tainments in  private  Families,  and  in  the  Palaces  of  Grandees.  And  it 
is  averred  by  a  Padre  of  Macao,  native  of  Japan,  that  the  best  Tea  ought 
not  to  be  gathered  but  by  Virgins  who  are  destined  to  this  work,  and 
such,  '  quae  nondum  menstrua  patiuntur:  gemmae  quae  nascuntur  in 
summitate  arbuscula  servantur  Imperatorie,  ac  praecipuis  ejus  Dynastis; 
quae  autem  infra  nascuntur,  ad  latera,  populo  conceduntur.'  The  said 
Leaf  is  of  such  known  vertues,  that  those  very  Nations  so  famous  for 
knowledge  and  wisdom,  do  frequently  sell  it  among  themselves  for  twice 
its  weight  in  silver,  and  the  high  estimation  of  the  Drink  made  therewith 
hath  occasioned  an  inquiry  into  the  nature  thereof  among  the  most  in- 
telligent persons  of  all  Nations  that  have  travelled  in  those  parts,  who 
after  exact  tryal  and  experience  by  all  ways  imaginable,  have  commended 
it  to  the  use  of  their  several  Countries,  for  its  vertues  and  operations,  par- 
ticularly as  followeth,  viz. 

"  The  Quality  is  moderately  hot,  proper  for  Winter  or  Summer.  The 
Drink  is  declared  to  be  most  wholesome,  preserving  in  perfect  health  until 
extreme  old  age. 

"  The  particular  Vertues  are  these.  It  makcth  the  body  active  and 
lusty.  It  helpeth  the  head-ache,  giddiness  and  heaviness  thereof.  It 
removeth  the  obstructions  of  the  spleen.  It  is  very  good  against  the 
stone  and  gravel,  cleansing  the  kidneys  and  ureters,  being  drank  with 
virgin's  honey  instead  of  sugar.  It  taketh  away  the  difficulty  of  breath- 
ing, opening  obstructions.  It  is  good  against  lipitude  distillations,  and 
cleareth  the  sight.  It  removeth  lassitude,  and  cleanseth  and  purifieth 
adust  humors  and  a  hot  liver.  It  is  good  against  crudities,  strengthening 
the  weakness  of  the  ventricle  or  stomach,  causing  good  appetite  and 
digestion,  and  particularly  for  men  of  a  corpulent  body,  and  such  as  are 
great  eaters  of  fiesh.  It  vanquisheth  heavy  dreams,  easeth  the  brain,  and 
strengthencth  the  memory.  It  overcometh  superfluous  sleep,  and  pre- 
vents sleepiness  in  general,  a  draught  of  the  Infusion  being  taken,  so  that 
without  trouble  whole  nights  may  be  spent  in  study  without  hurt  to  the 
body,  in  that  it  moderately  heateth  and  bindeth  the  mouth  of  the  sto- 
mack.  It  prevents  and  cures  agues,  surfeits,  and  feavers,  by  infusing 
a  fit  quantity  of  the  leaf,  thereby  provoking  a  most  gentle  vomit  and 
breathing  of  the  pores,  and  hath  been  given  with  wonderful  success.  It 
(being  prepared  and  drank  with  milk  and  water)  strengthencth  the  inward 
parts,  and  prevents  consumptions,  and  powerfully  assuageth  the  pains  of 
the  bowels,  or  griping  of  the  guts  and  looseness.  It  is  good  for  colds, 
dropsies,  and  scurvies,  if  properly  infused  ;  purging  the  blood  by  sweat 


60  OEIGINAL  LETTERS. 

and  urine,  and  expelleth  infection.  It  drives  away  all  pains  in  the  cholic 
proceeding  from  wind,  and  purgeth  safely  the  gall. 

"  And  that  the  vertues  and  excellencies  of  this  Leaf  and  Drink  are 
many  and  great,  is  evident  and  manifest  by  the  high  esteem  and  use  of 
it  (especially  of  late  years)  among  the  Physicians  and  knowing  men  in 
France,  Italy,  Holland,  and  other  parts  of  Christendom ;  and  in  England 
it  hath  been  sold  in  the  Leaf  for  six  pounds,  and  sometimes  for  ten 
pounds  the  pound  weight,  and  in  respect  of  its  former  scarceness  and 
deamess,  it  hath  been  only  used  as  a  Regalia  in  high  Treatments  and 
Entertainments,  and  Presents  made  thereof  to  Princes  and  Grandees,  till 
the  year  1657. 

The  said  Thomas  Garway  did  purchase  a  quantity  thereof,  and  first 
publickly  sold  the  said  Tea  in  Leaf  and  Drink  made  according  to  the  di- 
rections of  the  most  knowing  Merchants  and  Travellers  into  those  Eastern 
Countries:  and  upon  knowledge  and  experience  of  the  said  Garway's 
continued  care  and  industry  in  obtaining  the  best  Tea,  and  making  Drink 
thereof,  very  many  Noblemen,  Physicians,  Merchants,  and  Gentlemen  of 
quality  have  ever  since  sent  to  him  for  the  said  I^eaf,  and  daily  resort  to 
his  House  in  Exchange  Alley  aforesaid  to  drink  the  Drink  thereof. 

"  And  that  Ignorance  nor  Envy  may  have  no  ground  or  power  to  report 
or  suggest  that  what  is  here  asserted  of  the  vertues  and  excellencies  of 
this  precious  Leaf  and  Drink  hath  more  of  design  than  truth,  for  the 
justification  of  himself  and  satisfaction  of  others,  he  hath  here  enumerated 
several  Authors,  who  in  their  learned  Works  have  expressly  written  and 
asserted  the  same,  and  much  more  in  honour  of  this  noble  licaf  and 
Drink,  viz.  Bontius,  Riccius,  Jarricus,  Almeyda,  Horstius,  Alvarez 
Semeda,  Martinius  in  his  China  Atlas,  and  Alexander  de  Rhodes  in  his 
Voyage  and  Missions  in  a  large  discourse  of  the  ordering  of  this  Leaf 
and  the  many  vertues  of  the  Drink,  printed  at  Paris  1653,  part  10. 
chap.  13. 

"  And  to  the  end  that  all  persons  of  eminency  and  quality,  gentle- 
men, and  others,  who  have  occasion  for  Tea  in  leaf  may  be  supplied, 
these  are  to  give  notice  that  the  said  Thomas  Garway  hath  Tea  to  sell 
from  sixteen  to  fifty  shillings  the  pound. 

"  And  whereas  several  Persons  using  Coffee,  have  been  accustomed 
to  buy  the  powder  thereof  by  the  pound,  or  in  lesser  or  greater  quantities, 
which  if  kept  two  days  looseth  much  of  its  first  goodness.  And  foras- 
much as  the  Berries  after  drying  may  be  kept  if  need  require  some 
months;  therefore  all  persons  being  remote  from  London,  and  have 
occasion  for  the  said  powder,  are  advised  to  buy  the  said  Coffee  berries 
ready  dried ;  which  being  in  a  mortar  beaten,  or  in  a  mill  ground  to 
powder,  as  they  use  it,  will  so  often  be  brisk,  fresh,  and  fragrant,  and  in 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  61 

its  full  vigour  and  strength  as  if  new  prepared,  to  the  great  satisfaction 
of  the  Drinkers  thereof,  as  hath  been  experienced  by  many  in  this  City. 
Which  commodity  of  the  best  sort,  the  said  Thomas  Garway  hath  always 
ready  dried  to  be  sold  at  reasonable  rates. 

"  Also  such  as  will  have  Coffee  in  powder,  or  the  Berries  undried, 
or  Chocolate,  may  by  the  said  Thomas  Garway  be  supplied  to  their 
content :  with  such  further  Instructions  and  perfect  Directions  how  to  use 
Tea,  Coffee,  and  Chocolate,  as  is,  or  may  be  needful,  and  so  as  to  be 
efficacious  and  operative,  according  to  their  several  vertues. 


"  Advertisement. 
"  That  Nicholas  Brook,  living  at  the  Sign  of  the  Frying-pan  in  S'. 
Tulies-Street  gainst  the  Church,  is  the  only  known  man  for  making  of 
Mills  for  grinding  of  Coffee  powder,  which  Mills  are  by  him  sold  from 
40  to  45  shillings  the  Mill." 


The  Coffee  House  named  in  the  preceding  Paper  still  exists  as  Garra- 
•way's  Coffee  House.  Secretary  Pepys,  in  his  Diary,  vol.  i.  p.  7C.  with- 
out saying  where  he  had  his  drink,  makes  the  following  entry,  "  Sept. 
25"'.  16C0.  I  did  send  for  a  Cup  of  Tea  (a  China  drink)  of  which  I  never 
had  drank  before,  and  went  away."    . 


Paris,  Aug.  12,  1678. 
Though  as  a  Secretary  of  State  I  ought  not  to 
trouble  you  but  with  things  relating  to  the  good  of  the 
Public  Weal,  as  an  Uncle  methinks  I  may  sometimes 
present  you  my  duty,  which  is  no  small  favour ;  for, 
as  I  take  it,  my  friends  have  as  little  to  brag  of  my 
duty  as  of  any  relation  they  have,  I  having  been  pretty 
sparing  of  it,  and  they  may  thank  God  when  I  am  in 
the  humour  to  pay  it,  though  I  do  not ;  for  methinks 
it  is  an  ill  sign  when  after  five  and  thirty  years  old,  a 


62  OKfOINAT,    LETTERS. 

man  changes  for  any  thing,  and  I  am  so  afraid  that 
my  decent  behaviour  is  rather  a  sign  of  age  than  virtue, 
that  I  begin  to  repine  at  the  least  act  of  mine  that 
seems  to  have  any  decency  in  it.  All  the  comfort  I 
have  in  this  contemplation  is,  laying  a  part  of  this 
upon  your  kindness  to  me,  and  the  good  reception  I 
always  find  at  your  house,  more  especially  that  arbi- 
trary dominion  I  am  suffered  to  exercise  over  that  most 
notable  minister  of  state  your  Butler.  These  I  hope 
are  the  charms  that  have  prevailed  with  me  to  remem- 
ber (that  is  to  trouble)  you  oftener  than  I  am  apt  to 
do  other  of  my  friends,  whose  Buttery-hatch  is  not 
so  open,  and  who  calljbr  Tea  instead  of  Pipes  and 
Bottles  after  dinner ;  a  base  unworthy  Indian  practice^ 
and  which  I  must  ever  admire  your  most  Christian 
family  for  not  admitting.  The  truth  is,  all  nations 
are  grown  so  wicked  as  to  have  some  of  these  filthy 
customs. 

The  vice  of  this  flourishing  Kingdom  being  not  to 
sit  long  enough  by  two  hours  at  table,  and  by  that 
time  one  is  well  sate  and  settled  to  an  admirable  dinner, 
every  body  rises  in  haste  upon  the  news  that  the  King- 
has  dined,  as  if  what  filled  his  belly  filled  those  of  all 
his  subjects ;  and  that  it  were  treason  to  be  hungry 
(though  fasting)  when  the  King  had  dined ;  so  that  in 
more  senses  than  one  it  may  be  said,  no  man  in  France 
can  eat  but  the  King.  I  dread  my  share  of  this 
tyranny  when  I  go  to  Fontainbleau :  the  day  for  that 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS.  63 

voyage  being  Monday  se'nnight ;  and  a  little  after, 
every  snip  of  a  statesman  must  follow  for  his  own 
credit.  And  though  I  have  no  commission  to  justify 
my  pretensions  to  wisdom,  the  French  are  so  much 
better  discoverers  of  men''s  abilities  than  the  English, 
that  all  the  world  cannot  beat  it  out  of  men''s  heads 
but  that  I  am  in  the  deepest  of  the  secret  of  Peace  and 
War ;  and  they  rely  upon  nothing  more  than  my  pru- 
dence for  a  good  conclusion  of  so  Weighty  an  affair. 
After  this,  would  not  one  think  that  they  are  all  witches 
here .''  for  alas !  what  have  I  done  to  give  the  least 
suspicion  of  this  kind  ?  I  appeal  to  all  my  friends,  all 
my  relations,  and  all  my  acquaintance  whether  I  have 
deserved  this  at  any  body"*s  hands,  and  whether  I  look 
more  like  a  carrier  of  peace  than  several  of  my  ac- 
quaintance that  are  gone  into  Flanders  look  like  car- 
riers of  war.  For  my  part  I  am  a  modest  man,  and 
neither  desire  to  be  pmnted  with  an  olive-branch  in  my 
mouth,  nor  a  generaFs  staff  in  my  hand ;  a  glass  of 
wine  shall  serve  my  turn  in  both,  and  the  very  next 
shall  be  to  your  health,  and  so  God  bless  you  my  ever 
honoured  Uncle,  and  Right  Honourable  Secretary  of 
State. 


^4  OllICxINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCXXII. 

The  Duke  of  Monmouth  to  Sir  Robert  AtTcyns,  A.  D. 
1679. 

[from  the  Orig.  IN  THE  BRITISH  MUSEUM.] 

*,*  The  disgrace  of  Monmouth  to  which  this  Letter  relates,  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  King's  Declaration  respecting  Lucy  Walters,  printed  in  the 
former  Series. 

For  seventeen  or  eighteen  years  the  suspicion  was  kept  alive  at  intervals, 
that  Monmouth  might  by  some  chance  be  made  the  Successor  to  the 
Crown ;  for  the  King  was  not  looked  upon  as  the  only  person  who  secretly 
encouraged  the  intention.  That  the  Report  prevailed  not  only  after  the 
Duke  had  left  England  by  order,  but  even  after  the  King's  Declaration 
of  1680,  will  be  seen  in  the  Letter  which  follows  this. 


SiK,  Whitehall,  19  h.  Sept. 

I  HAVE  received  the  King's  commands  to  go  out  of 
England  for  some  time,  and  in  obedience  thereto,  I  am 
preparing  myself  for  my  journey.  But  before  I  go  I 
am  willing  to  make  the  settlement  of  my  Estate,  and  I 
am  informed  that  one  part  of  it  must  be  done  in  the 
presence  of  one  of  the  Justices  of  the  Common  Pleas, 
who  being  all  out  of  town  at  this  time,  I  take  the 
liberty  to  desire  you  would  give  yourself  the  trouble  to 
come  to  London  on  Monday  next,  wherein  you  will 
very  particularly  oblige, 

Sir, 
Your  humble  servant, 

MONMOUTH. 
For  Sir  Robert  Atkins,  Bart,  one  of 
his  Majesty's  Justices  of  the  Common 
Pleas,  at  his  house  near  Barnet. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  6& 


LETTER  CCCXXIII. 

Dr.  Zacheus  Isham  Dean  of  Christ  Church  Oxford^ 
to  Dr.  Edmund  Borlase.  Rumours  after  the  Dis- 
solution of  the  Parliament  at  Oxford. 

[m8.  DONAT.  BEIT.  MUS.  1008.  foL  112.    Orig-I 


Christ  Church,  Mar.  31,  1681. 
Sir, 

We  have  not  been  so  much  an  University  here  of 
late  as  a  Stage,  upon  which  very  sudden  turns  and 
changes  of  state  affairs  have  been  acted  ;  but  what  de- 
nomination tlie  Drama  must  have  cannot  appear  till  the 
event,  for  tlie  last  act  is  not  yet  come,  and  we  must 
expect  other  revolutions.  Indeed  the  Dissolution  of 
the  Parliament  was  very  surprising  to  all  here,  as  well 
as  to  the  Country  ;  and  to  me  the  mystery  of  it  seems 
to  be  in  the  dark  :  but  truth  will  not  always  be  so,  and 
in  time  we  may  hope  to  see  the  plots  and  contrivance* 
of  our  disturbers  unravelled  and  defeated. 

We  have  a  long  story  here  of  a  private  conference 
between  the  King  and  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  who  pro- 
posed to  him  the  declaring  of  the  Duke  of  M.  to  be 
legitimate,  and  the  enriching  of  himself  by  the  Church- 
lands;  but  the  King  firmly  rejected  both  these  proposals 
as  unjust.  I  will  not  warrant  the  truth  of  this  relation, 
but  it  is  confidently  reported  amongst  us ;  and  if  it  be 

VOL.  IV.    SER.  2.  F 


66  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

true,  the  designs  of  our  leading  patriots,  (as  they  would 
be  thought,)  are  sufficiently  manifested. 

It  is  no  less  warmly  discoursed  of  here,  that  the 
next  Parliament  will  be  called  hither  about  November : 
but  I  am  not  apt  to  believe,  that  his  Majesty  will  be 
inclined  to  have  another  so  soon. 

Sir,  what  transactions  were  done  and  carrying  on  in 
the  short  Parliament  here  you  must  certainly  be  well 
informed,  having  the  mouth  of  it  at  Chester,  and  there- 
fore I  shall  not  pretend  to  give  you  any  account  of  it : 
but  had  their  stay  been  longer,  I  should  sometimes 
have  ventured  to  give  you  a  taste  of  my  improvement 
among  our  politicians ;  because  I  find  that  you  are  so 
highly  favourable  to  me  as  to  accept  of  my  correspond- 
ence; though  truly.  Sir,  you  are  not  very  likely  to  thrive 
by  this  trade,  for  you  exchange  gold  for  brass.     How- 
ever, Sir,  I  am  very  well  pleased  with  this  intercourse, 
which  is  so  advantageous  to  me ;  nor  will  you  lose  much 
by  this  traffic,  because  your  communications,  like  those 
.     .     .  a  light,  diminish  not  the  fountain  ;  and  be- 
sides, not ''     .     .     .   what  I  gain  from  you  is  still 
yours  ;  but  I  am  so  entirely  myself  as  being. 
Sir, 
Your  most  obedient 
and  most  devoted  servant. 

Z.  ISHAM. 
For  the  most  honoured  Dr.  Edmund 
Borlase,  at  his  house  in  West  Chester,  these, 

•  Qt4.  of  the.  ••  9"-  note  that. 


OUIGTKAI.    LETTERS.  (J7 


LETTER  CCCXXIV. 

Sir  James  Dick,  Bart.  Lord  Provost  of  Edinburgh, 
to  Mr.  Ellies  at  London.  The  Diike  of' York  ship- 
wrecked on  the  Sand-bank  called  the  Lenum  and  Ore. 

[mS.  DOKAT.  MUS.  BRIT.  5719<     FBOM   SIR  JAMES    DICK's    BOOK    OF 
LETTERS.] 

*,•  The  Duke  of  York  was  wrecked  upon  the  Ijemon  and  Ore,  about 
sixteen  leagues  from  the  mouth  of  the  Humber,  on  the  morning  of  May 
5th,  1682. 

Sir  James  Dick,  the  writer  of  this  liCtter,  in  consequence,  assumed  for 
his  crest  a  Ship  in  distress  and  sinking,  with  the  motto  ''  At  Spe$ 
infracta.^'' 


Edinburgh,  9"'.  of  May,  1682. 
Deae  Sir, 
Upon  Sunday,  at  eight  o'clock  at  night,  his  Royal 
Highness  with  his  retinue  arrived  safe  here,  there 
being  a  most  sad  disaster  upon  the  Saturday  before, 
at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning ; "  the  man  of  war  called 
the  Gloster,  Sir  John  Barrie  Captain,  wherein  his 
Highness  was,  and  a  great  retinue  of  noblemen  and 
gentlemen,  whereof  I  was  one,  the  said  ship  did  strike 
in  pieces  and  did  wholly  sink  in  a  Bank  of  sand  called 
the  Lemon  and  Ore,  about  twelve  leagues  from  Yar- 
mouth. This  was  occasioned  by  the  wrong  calcul 
and  ignorance  of  a  Pilot,  and  put  us  all  in  such  con- 

*  Kennctt,  Hist.  Engl.  vol.  iii.  p.  404.  places  this  Actident  the  day  before,  '"  on 
F»irf<iy,May  fi""." 

F  2 


68 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


sternation  that  we  knew  not  what  to  do:  the  Duke 
and  all  that  were  with  him  being  in  bed  when  she  first 
struck.  The  helm  having  broke,  the  man  was  killed  by 
the  force  thereof  at  the  first  shock. 

When  the  Duke  got  his  clothes  on  and  inquired  how 
things  stood,  she  had  nine  feet  water  in  her  hold,  and  the 
sea  fast  coming  in  at  the  gun-ports ;  the  seamen  and  pas- 
sengers were  not  at  command,  every  man  studying  his 
own  safety.  This  forced  the  Duke  to  go  out  at  the  large 
window  of  the  cabin  where  his  little  boat  was  ordered 
quietly  to  attend  him,  lest  the  passengers  and  seamen 
should  have  thronged  so  in  upon  him,  as  to  overset  his 
boat.  This  was  accordingly  so  conducted  as  that  none 
but  Earl  Winton  and  the  President  of  the  Session,  with 
two  of  the  bed-chamber  men,  went  with  him.  They 
were  forced  to  draw  their  swords  to  hold  people  off. 

We  seeing  they  were  gone,  did  cause  tackle  out  with 
great  difficulty  the  Ship''s  boat,  wherein  the  Earl  of 
Perth  got,  and  then  I  went  by  jumping  off  the  shrouds; 
the  Earl  of  Middleton  immediately  after  me  did  jump 
in  upon  my  shoulders ;  withal  there  came  the  Laird  of 
Touch  with  several  others,  besides  the  seamen  that 
were  to  row,  which  was  thought  a  sufficient  number 
for  her  loading,  considering  there  was  going  so  great 
a  sea,  occasioned  by  the  wind  at  North  East ;  and  we 
seeing  that  at  the  Duke's  boat  side,  there  was  one 
overwhelmed  by  reason  of  the  greatness  of  the  sea, 
which  drowned  the  whole  in  her  except  two  men,  whom 


ORIGINAL  lp:tters,  69 

we  saw  riding  on  her  keel.  This  made  us  desire  to 
be  gone,  but  before  we  were  loose,  there  leaped  from 
the  shrouds  about  twenty  or  twenty-four  seamen  in  upon 
us,  which  made  all  the  spectators  and  ourselves  to  think 
we  would  sink,  and  all  having  given  us  over  for  lost, 
did  hinder  an  hundred  more  from  leaping  in  upon  us. 

With  those  that  were  left  was  Lord  Roxburgh  and 
Laird  Hopton,  and  Mr.  Littledel,  Roxburgh's  ser- 
vant. Doctor  Livingston,  and  the  President  of  the 
Sessions'  man,  and  my  servant.  They  all  being  at  the 
place  when  I  jumped  would  not  follow,  because  it  seems 
they  concluded  it  more  safe  to  stay  in  the  vessel  than 
to  expose  themselves  to  our  hazard  ;  all  which  persons 
in  an  instant  were  washed  off  and  drowned. 

There  will  be  perished  in  this  disaster  above  two 
hundred  persons,  for  I  reckon  there  were  two  hundred 
and  fifty  seamen,  and  I  am  sure  there  were  eighty  noble- 
men, gentlemen,  and  their  servants;  my  computation  was 
that  there  were  three  hundred  and  thirty  in  all,  of  which 
I  cannot  learn  that  a  hundred  and  thirty  are  found  alive. 

Our  difficulties  and  hazards  that  were  in  this  boat 
were  wonderful.  If  the  rest  had  not  thought  us  all 
dead  men,  I  am  sure  many  more  would  have  jumped 
in  upon  us.  We  were  so  thronged  we  had  no  room 
to  stand,  and  when  we  were  forcing  ourselves  from 
the  ship,  she  being  sinking  by  degrees  all  the  time ; 
and  besides  the  surfs  were  so  boisterous  that  we 
were  like  to  be  struck  in  pieces  upon  the  wreck  so 


,70  OttlGINAL    LETTERS. 

sinking,  it  was  npt  but  with  great  difficulty  that  we 
forced  out  the  boat  from  the  ship ;  and  when  we  came 
to  row  to  the  nearest  yacht,  the  waves  were  such,  we 
being  overloaded,  that  every  moment  we  thought  to 
have  been  drowned;  and  being  about  midway  to  the 
yachts,  there  were  a  great  many  swimming  for  their 
lives,  who  caught  a  dead  gripe  of  our  boat,  holding 
up  their  heads  above  the  water  and  crying  for  help ; 
which  hinderance  was  put  off  and  their  hands  loosed, 
by  telling  them  they  would  both  lose  themselves  and 
us ;  yet  this  would  not  do  to  make  them  loose  their 
gripe,  till  they  were  forced  off  by  several  in  our  boat, 
except  one  that  took  hold  of  me,  whom  I  caused  catch 
into  the  boat,  lest  I  should  have  been  pulled  out  by 
him  ;  and  when  it  pleased  God  to  bring  us  wonderfully 
to  one  of  the  yachfs  side,  being  not  less  than  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  distant  from  our  ship,  they  not  daring  to 
come  nearer  by  reason  of  the  sand  bank  upon  which 
we  were  wrecked ;  and  if  we  had  not  shot  off  guns, 
shewing  them  our  distress,  the  other  men  of  war  that 
were  immediately  following  would  have  met  with  the 
same  disaster ;  but  they  immediately  bore  off.  The 
four  yachts  came  as  near  as  they  could,  and  put  off 
their  boats  to  help  us,  but  all  that  could  be  done  could 
not  prevent  this  great  loss  of  about  two  hundred  men. 
I  was  in  my  gown  and  slippers,  lying  in  bed,  when  she 
first  struck,  and  did  escape  in  that  condition ;  and 
when  unexpectedly  and  wonderfully  we  came  to  the 


^  ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  71 

yacht's  side,  called  Captain  Saunders,  we  were  like  to 
be  crushed  to  pieces  by  it,  which  by  reason  of  the 
great  sea  was  like  to  run  us  down. 

At  last  a  rope  was  cast,  which  was  so  managed  that 
we  were  brought  to  the  lee  side,  then  every  man 
climbed  for  his  life,  and  so  did  I,  taking  hold  of  a 
rope,  and  made  shift  upon  the  side  till  I  came  within 
men's  reach,  and  was  hauled  in ;  and  I  then  looked 
back  but  could  not  see  one  bit  of  our  Great  Ship  above 
water,  but  about  a  Scots  ell  long  of  the  staff  upon 
which  the  Royal  Standard  stood ;  for  with  her  striking 
she  had  come  off  the  sand  bank  which  was  but  three 
fathoms,  and  her  draught  was  eighteen  feet.  There 
was  eighteen  fathoms  water  upon  each  side  when  she 
struck,  and  so  did  sink  in  the  deepest  place.  Now  if 
she  had  continued  upon  the  three  fathoms,  and  broke 
in  pieces  there,  all  would  have  had  time  to  have  saved 
themselves ;  but  such  was  the  misfortune,  that  she  was 
wholly  overwhelmed,  and  all  washed  into  the  sea  that 
were  upon  her  decks.  There  would  have  been  relief 
by  boats  if  she  had  stood  half  an  hour  longer. 

So  to  conclude  this  melancholy  account,  all  the  above 
persons,  our  countrymen,  that  were  of  resj^ect,  are 
as  I  have  told.  Of  Englishmen  of  respect  there  were 
lost  Lord  O'Brien  and  Lord  Hyde's  brother,  who  was 
lieutenant  of  the  ship ;  and  a  number  of  noblemen  and 
gentlemen's  servants,  which  I  cannot  name.  I  can 
I  hardly  speak  with  any  that  were  aboard  with    the 


7^  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

Duke  but  they  have  lost  of  servants  more  or  less. 
God  make  me  thankful  for  this  wonderful  deliverance. 

I  believe  I  shall  have  trouble  now  that  both  my  Lord 
Roxburgh  and  his  man  are  lost,  to  recover  payment 
of  these  bills :  all  my  clothes  and  papers  are  lost,  having 
nothing  saved  but  the  twenty  guineas  which  were  in 
my  little  pocket  with  my  watch,  and  the  little  box  with 
my  wife's  ring  and  necklace;  but  for  my  papers,  I 
rolled  them  up  in  a  handkerchief,  and  put  them  off 
me,  so  that  both  the  King's  letter  for  the  .^1200  ster- 
ling, and  the  accompt  I  filed  with  you,  are  gone. 

Yesterday  his  Royal  Highness  called  the  King's 
Council,  and  there  the  King's  will  was  declared  as  to 
his  Chancellor,  who  was  the  President  of  the  Session  ; 
my  Lord  Queensberry  for  Treasurer,  and  Lord  Perth 
Justice-General  which  Queensberry  had  before. 

Notwithstanding  the  disaster  his  Highness  met  with 
in  this  last  sea  voyage,  yet  he  is  within  five  or  six  days, 
with  his  Duchess  and  the  Lady  Anne,  to  take  shipping 
for  London. 

JAMES    DICK. 

To  Mr.  EUies,  in  London. 


-The  reader  will  do  well  to  compare  the  Letter  which  he  has  just  read, 
with  the  very  different  statement  which  Hume  gives  of  the  circumstances 
of  the  Shipwreck.  He  says,  "  As  the  King  was  master  in  England,  and 
no  longer  dreaded  the  clamours  of  the  country  party,  he  permitted  the 
Duke  to  pay  him  a  visit ;  and  was  soon  after  prevailed  on  to  allow  of  his 
return  to  England,  and  of  his  bearing  a  part  in  the  administration.    The 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  73 

Duke  went  to  Scodand,  in  order  to  bring  up  his  family,  and  settle  the 
government  of  that  country ;  and  he  chose  to  take  his  passage  by  sea. 
The  Ship  struck  on  a  sand-bank,  and  was  lost ;  the  Duke  escaped  in  the 
BABGE ;  and  it  is  pretended,  that  while  many  persons  of  rank  and  quality 
were  drowned,  and  among  the  rest  Hyde,  his  brother-in-law,  he  was  very 
careful  to  save  several  of  Ms  dogs  and  priests  ;  for  these  two  species  of 
favourites  are  coupled  together  by  some  writers.  It  has  likewise  been 
asserted,  that  the  barge  might  safely  have  held  more  persons,  and  that 
some  who  swam  to  it  were  thrust  off,  and  even  their  hands  cut,  in  order 
to  disengage  them." 

Among  the  persons  of  consequence  who  perished  at  this  time,  beside 
those  who  are  mentioned  in  the  Letter,  was  Sir  John  Douglas. 

The  commander.  Sir  John  Berry  (called  Barrie  by  Sir  James  Dick), 
escaped  by  a  rope  over  the  vessel's  stem.  He  was  afterwards  examined 
before  the  Privy  Council,  when  the  King,  having  satisfied  himself  that 
no  fault  attached  to  him,  gave  him  the  command  of  another  vessel,  the 
Henrietta,  destined  for  the  Coast  of  Ireland. 


LETTER  CCCXXV. 

Lady  Rachel  Russell  to 

[bRIT.   MUS.   Ortg.    PRESENTED  BY  JOHN  WILMOT,  ESft.] 


Woburn  Abbey,  April  30,  84. 
Sir, 
Yours  of  the  20"'  of  April  I  have  read;  your 
Prayers  and  Wishes  are  kindly  accepted  by  your  af- 
flicted servant ;  who  have  no  other  shadow  of  comfort 
but  to  find  myself  at  all  esteemed  by  worthy  persons, 
and  those  had  so  for,  and  were  so  by  that  loved  friend 


74  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

my  soul  longs  to  meet  again.  When  at  any  time  you 
allow  me  the  like  favour,  and  I  am  not  in  London  (as 
I  purpose  it  not  yet)  if  your  Letters  be  left  at  my  Ser- 
vant's house  who  brings  this  to  your  Servant,  they  will 
be  carefully  and  safely  delivered  me.  I  have  appointed 
him,  at  his  giving  this  to  your  servant,  to  direct  him 
where  he  shall  find  him ;  his  name  is  Benjamin  Por- 
daye,  his  house  in  Great  Russell  Street  near  Montague 
House;  he  shall  be  very  punctual  to  your  servant. 
Till  I  have  a  return  to  this  from  you,  Sir,  you  shall 
receive  no  further  trouble  from  your  ever  mournful 
but 

obliged  faithful  servant, 

R.  'RUSSELL. 


Of  the  Illness  which  immediately  preceded  the  death  of  Charles  the 
Second  a  very  full  and  curious  detail  in  Latin  is  preserved  in  the  Library 
of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  together  with  copies  of  the  Prescriptions 
administered  (two  of  them  signed  by  no  fewer  than  fourteen  Physicians), 
and  an  Account  of  the  appearances  of  his  Majesty's  body  when  opened ; 
the  whole  completely  removing  the  suspicion  that  the  King  was  taken 
off  by  poison. 

It  begins, 

"  Feb.  2°,  1684. 

"  Ad  octavam  prsecise  horam  Rex  serenissimus  Carolus  II.  lecto  re- 
cens  relicto,  dum  in  cubiculo  leniter  inambulabat,  inordinatum  quendani 
in  cerebro  sensit  motum,  cui  mox  aphonia  motusque  convulsivi  vehe- 
mentiores  succedebant. 

"  Aderant  forte  tunc  ex  Bledicis  Regiis  omnino  duo,  qui,  ut  tanto  Re- 
gum  optimi  periculo  mature  prospicerent,  venam  ei  in  brachio  dextro 
apcrucrunt,  sanguinisquc  eduxerunt  uncias  circiter  sedecim. 


ORIGINAL    LETTEKS.  1^ 

"  Interim  et  caeteri  Medici,  per  celerrimos  nuncios  advocati,  in  Regis 
subsidium  convolarunt;   habitoque  inter  se  consilio,  oninem  navarunt 
opcram,  ut  periclitanti  Majestati  suppetias  ferrent  praesentaneas." 
*•*•*♦ 

On  the  morning  of  the  G"".  it  is  said, 

"  Caeterum  (Eheu  !)  intempesta  jam  nocte  S.  R.  vires  usque  adco  iii- 
fractffi  videbantur,  ut  totus  Medicorum  Chorus  ab  omni  spe  destitu- 
tus  animum  desponderit ;  ne  tamen  uUa  in  re  officio  suo  vidercntur  deesse, 
generosissimum  illud  Cardiacum  instituunt 

52   Antidoti  Raleighance  Jj. 
Julap.  Perlat.  cochL  5. 
Sp.  Salis  Armoniac.  succinat. 
g".  XX.  M.  statim  propinentur. 

"  Novissimo  huic  moestissimoque  Medicorum  Conventui  aderant, 
C.  Scarbui^h,  E.  Dickenson,  E.  Browne,  R.  Brady,  T.  Short,  C.  Farell, 
T.  Witherby,  T.  Millington,  R.  liower,  P.  Barwick,  J.  Le  Febure. 

"  Aderat  etiam  inclytus  ille  heros,  Regis  frater  unicus  Regnique  op- 
timo  jure  haeres,  Jacobus  hinc  Eboraci  quidem  et  Albanite  Dux  illustris- 
simus,  hodie  vero  Britanniarum  augustissimus  Monarcha,  qui  summa  in 
Regem  pietate  et  plusquam  fratemo  amore  afFectus,  de  illius  salute 
usque  adeo  sollicitus  fuit,  ut  a  decumbentis  lecto  vix  unquam  decedere 
sustinuerit,  nunc  totus  in  luctu  versans,  nunc  sedulus  cxequendis  Medi- 
corum consiliis  ipsemct  invigilans  alias  ab  Archiatro  Ccrlesti  opcm  auxi- 
liumque  ardentissimis  precibus  votisque  et  gemitibus  subinde  eifusis  im- 
plorans,  ut  omnibus  constiterit  maluisse  ipsum  charissimi  fratris  consor- 
tio  perfrui,  quam  Sceptro,  frustra  reluctantibus  Fatis.  Nam  post  tot 
amicorum  vota  et  suspiria,  post  omne  genus  medelse  a  fidissimis  juxta  et 
eruditissimis  Medicis  tentatum,  Regum  optimus  orthopnaea  lethali  ex 
improviso  correptus,  quae  cum  subinde  violentiam  remitteret,  mox  acrius 
recrudesceret,  fomite  mali  perpetuo  superstite,  tandem  toto  naturae  roborc 
dolorum  immanitate  attrito,  mortalcm  coronam  placide  dcposuit,  ut  ac- 
ciperet  immortalem. 

^'  Expiravit  Fcbruar.  sexto  paulo  post  meridiem,  anno  aetatis  quiuqua- 
gcsimo  quarto  ad  finem  decurrente." 

The  following  is  the  Account  of  the  Opening  of  the  Body : 

"  In  Caroli  Sccundi  augustissimi  Britanniarum  Regis  Corpore  aperto 
pot^t  mortem  reperiebantur, 

1".  In  cerebri  cortice  Venae  et  Arteriae  super  modum  replctae. 

2".  Cerebri  turn  ventriculi  omnes  serosa  quadam  materia  inundati,  tuni 
ijisa  substantia  consimili  humore  baud  leviter  imbuta. 

',V\  Thoraci  dextri  Uteris  Pulmoues  Pleurae  tenaciter  adiucrcntcs,  sini.s« 


7.6  OEIGINAL    LETTERS. 

Ik 

tra  vero  plane  liberi,  quemadmodum  ex  Naturae  instituto  in  sanis  esse 
solet. 

4°.  Pulmonum  substantia  neutiquam  culpanda  quidem  sed  sanguine 
referta. 

5°.  Cor  amplum  firmumque,  et  in  omnibus  rectissime  formatum. 

6°.  In  infimo  ventre  nihil  praeter  naturale,  nisi  quod  hepatis  color  ad 
lividitatem  inclinaret,  forte  a  sanguinis  inibi  restitantis  pleonasmo,  quo 
renes  et  lien  cernebantur  suflParcinati." 

The  total  of  the  "  Medicorum  Chorus,"  as  appears  from  the  Sig- 
natures to  the  different  Prescriptions,  included  also  the  Doctors,  Gu. 
Charleton,  Edm.  King,  C.  Frazier,  Fer.  Mendes,  and  M.  Lister.     In  all 

SIXTEEN. 


In  the  preceding  Series  the  death-bed  scene  of  King  Charles 
THE  Second,  surrounded  by  the  Protestant  Bishops,  has  been  fully 
described.  Nevertheless  it  is  equally  undoubted  that  he  received  the  rites 
of  the  Romish  Church  the  day  before  his  death. 

Dr.  Birch,  among  his  Papers  bequeathed  to  the  Museum,  has  a  copy  of 
a  Letter  from  one  J.  Aprice,  to  his  brother-in-law  Mr.  William  Lyn- 
wood  of  Deane  in  Northamptonshire,  detailing  Father  Hudleston's  Account 
to  him  of  his  administering  extreme  unction  to  the  King.  Dr.  Birch  has 
added  a  "  Note  of  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln"  at  the  end,  in  these  words : 
"  The  original  Letter  is  now  in  the  hands  of  Mrs.  Eyre  of  Stamford,  and 
J.  Aprice  abovementioned  was  a  Romish  priest  and  relation  of  hers,  as 
was  also  Mr.  Lynwood  to  whom  the  Letter  was  written." 

It  is  not  generally  known,  however,  that  Father  Hudleston's  own  Ac- 
count is  extant  in  print,  published  under  the  patronage  of  James  the 
Second  and  the  Queen  Dowager,  in  a  Work  of  which  the  following  is 
the  Title : 

"  A  Short  and  Plain  Way  to  the  Faith  and  Church :  composed  many 
years  since  by  tJiat  eminent  Divine  Mr.  Richard  Hudleston  of  the 
English  Congregation  of  the  Order  of  St.  Benedict ;  and  now  published 
for  the  common  good,  by  his  nephew  Mr.  Jo.  Hudleston  of  the  same 
Congregation.  To  which  is  annexed  his  late  Majesty  King  Charles  the 
Second  his  Papers  found  in  his  Closet  after  his  decease.  As  also  a 
Brief  Account  of  what  occurred  on  his  Death-Bed  in  re- 
jgard  to  Religion.     Permissu  Superiorum."    London,  1688,  quarto. 

The  dedication  of  this  Tract  is  "  To  the  Queen  Dowager."  John 
Hudleston  declares  himself,  in  it,  to  have  been  in  Her  Majesty's  service 
from  the  time  of  her  first  Accession,  and  that  the  Book  which  had  been 
written  by  his  uncle  was  first  seen  by  him  "  in  his  retirement  at  JMoscley 
in  Stafibrdshirc." 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  77 

The  Dedication  is  followed  by  "  The  Publisher  (John  Hudleston 
himself)  to  the  Reader."  Hudleston  here  gives  an  Account  of  his  Uncle's 
life  and  Studies,  and  states  that  the  Work,  the  title  of  which  has  been 
just  copied,  was  instrumental  in  King  Charles  the  Second's  conversion. 
He  then  says, 

"  There  are  none  so  ignorant  who  have  not  heard  of  the  defeat  of  his 
late  Majesty's  Army  by  the  Rebels  at  Worcester,  on  the  3^.  September 
1651 ;  and  of  the  then  Preservation  of  His  sacred  life  and  person  by 
the  care  and  fidelity  of  his  catholic  subjects,  of  whom  I  acknowledge 
myself  the  most  unworthy.  In  this  sad  conjuncture  it  was,  that  thd 
desolate  King  after  having  been  harassed  to  and  fro.  Night  and  Day,  in 
continual  fatigues  and  perils,  from  Wednesday  the  day  of  the  battle  till 
Sunday  following,  at  last  found  an  Asylum  and  Refuge  at  M'.  Whit- 
grave's  House  at  Moseley,  whither  divine  Providence,  not  long  before, 
brought  me,  and  where  I  had  first  the  honor  of  attending  upon  him. 
During  this  retreat,  whilst  M'.  Whitgrave,  his  Lady,  and  Mother,  (who 
alone  of  all  the  Household  were  privy  to  the  secret)  were  often  busied  in 
watching  and  other  discharges  of  their  duty  towards  his  accommodation 
and  safeguard,  His  Majesty  was  pleased  to  entertain  himself  for  the  most 
part  with  me  in  my  chamber,  by  perusing  several  of  my  books,  amongst 
others  he  took  up  this  present  Treatise  then  a  Manuscript,  lying  on  the 
table  of  a  closet  adjacent  to  my  Chamber.  He  read  it ;  he  seriously  con- 
sidered it ;  and  after  mature  deliberation  pronounced  this  Sentence  upon 
it  (viz.)  '  I  have  not  seen  any  thing  more  plain  and  clear  upon  this  sub- 
'  ject :  the  Arguments  here  drawn  from  succession  are  so  conclusive,  I 
'  do  not  conceive  how  they  can  be  denied.'  Now  that  this  was  not  any 
sudden  motion  or  superficial  compliment  of  His  JIajesty,  but  the  pro- 
duct of  a  real  and  solid  conviction  is  manifest  by  the  tenor  and  gravity 
of  the  words  themselves ;  by  the  Papers  found  in  his  Closet  after  his  de- 
cease under  his  own  hand,  which  seem  even  to  the  very  manner  of  ex- 
pression to  breathe  the  same  spirit  and  genius  with  that  of  the  book ;  and 
lastly  by  those  truly  Christian  Catholic  resolutions  he  took  (albeit  through 
frailty  late)  in  disposing  himself  for  an  happy  departure  out  of  this  World 
by  an  entire  reconcilement  to  God  and  the  Church." 

At  the  end  of  the  Tract,  p.  31.  we  have  Copies  of  Two  Papers  written 
by  the  late  King  Charles  II.  of  "  blessed  memory."  • 

The  first  concerns  the  Declaration  of  the  King  that  the  Roman  Ca- 
tholic is  the  only  true  Church.     At  the  close  of  it  is  this  Attestation. 

"  This  is  a  true  Copy  of  a  Paper  I  found  in  the  late  King  my  Bro- 
ther's strong  Box,  written  in  his  own  hand. 

J.  R." 

•  These  have  heeii  printed  more  than  once. 


78  OEIGINAI/  LETTEUS. 

The  second  is  to  the  same  effect,  showing  that  the  Roman  Catholic  is 
the  true  Church  "  from  whence  there  can  be  no  Appeal."     Attested 
"  This  is  a  true  Copy. 

J.  R." 

Afterward  comes 

"  A  Brief  Account  of  Particulars  occurring  at   the 

HAPPY  DEATH  OF  OUR  LATE  SOVEREIGN  LoRD  KING  CHARLES 
THE  2''.  IN  REGARD  TO  RELIGION  ;  FAITHFULLY  RELATED  BY  HIS 

THEN  Assistant  Mr.  Jo.  HUDLESTON. 

"  Upon  Thursday  the  Fifth  of  February,  1685,  between  Seven  and 
Eight  a  Clock  in  the  Evening,  I  was  sent  for  in  hast  to  the  Queen's 
Back-stairs  at  Whitehal,  and  desired  to  bring  with  me  all  things  necessary 
for  a  dying  Person.  Accordingly  I  came,  and  was  order'd  not  to  stir 
from  thence  till  further  notice.  Being  thus  obliged  to  wait,  and  not  having 
had  time  to  bring  along  with  me  the  most  Holy  Sacrament  of  the  Altar, 
I  was  in  some  anxiety  how  to  procure  it :  In  this  conjuncture  (the  Di- 
vine Providence  so  disposing)  Father  Bento  de  Lemos  a  Portuguez  came 
thither,  and  understanding  the  circumstance  I  was  in,  readily  profer'd 
himself  to  go  to  S'.  James's  and  bring  the  most  Holy  Sacrament  along 
with  him. 

"  Soon  after  his  departure  I  was  call'd  into  the  King's  Bed  Chamber, 
where  approaching  to  the  bed  side,  and  kneeling  down,  I  in  brief  pre- 
sented his  Majesty  with  what  service  I  could  perform  for  God's  honor, 
and  the  happiness  of  his  Soul  at  this  last  moment  on  which  Eternity 
depends.  The  King  then  declared  himself:  That  he  desired  to  die  in 
the  Faith  and  Communion  of  the  Holy  Roman  Catholic  Church ;  That 
he  was  most  heartily  sorry  for  all  the  Sins  of  his  life  past,  and  particu- 
larly for  that  he  had  deferred  his  Reconciliation  so  long ;  That  through 
the  Merits  of  Christ's  passion  he  hoped  for  Salvation ;  That  he  was  in 
charity  with  all  the  world ;  That  with  all  his  heart  he  pardoned  his  Ene- 
mies and  desired  pardon  of  all  those  whom  he  had  any  wise  offended, 
and  that  if  it  pleased  God  to  spare  him  longer  life,  he  would  amend  it, 
detesting  all  Sin. 

"  I  then  advertis'd  His  Majesty  of  the  benefit  and  necessity  of  the 
SaCrainent  of  Penance,  which  advertisement  the  King  most  willingly 
embracing,  made  an  exact  Confession  of  his  whole  Life  with  exceeding 
compunction  and  tenderness  of  heart;  which  ended,  I  desired  him,  in 
farther  sign  of  Repentance  and  true  sorrow  for  his  Sins,  to  say  with  me 
this  little  short  Act  of  Contrition. 

"  '  O  my  Lord  God,  with  my  whole  heart  and  soul  I  detest  all  the 
'  Sins  of  my  Life  past  for  the  Love  of  Thee,  whom  I  love  above  all 
'  things ;  and  I  firmly  purpose  by  thy  Holy  Grace  never  to  offend  thee 


ORIGIXAL    LETTERS.  79 

'  more,  Amen,  sweet  Jesus,  Amen.    Into  thy  hands,  sweet  Jesus,  I  com- 
'  mend  my  Soul;  Mercy,  sweet  Jesus,  Mercy.* 

"  This  he  pronounced  with  a  clear  and  audible  voice,  which  done,  and 
his  sacramental  penance  admitted,  I  gave  him  Absolution. 

"  After  some  time  thus  spent,  I  asked  His  Majesty  if  he  did  not  also 
desire  to  have  the  other  Sacraments  of  the  Holy  Church  administred  to 
him  ?  He  replyed,  '  By  all  means  1  desire  to  be  partaker  of  all  the  helps 
'  and  succours  necessary  and  expedient  for  a  catholic  Christian  in  my 
'  condition,'  I  added,  '  And  doth  not  your  Majesty  also  desire  to  receive 
the  pretious  Body  and  Blood  of  our  dear  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  in  the 
most  Holy  Sacrament  of  the  Eucharist  ?'  His  answer  was  this :  '  If  I 
am  worthy,  pray  fail  not  to  let  me  have  it.'  I  then  told  him,  it  would 
be  brought  to  him  very  speedily,  and  desired  His  Majesty,  that,  in  the 
interim,  he  would  give  me  leave  to  proceed  to  the  Sacrament  of  Extreme 
Unction,  he  replyed,  '  With  all  my  heart ;'  I  then  anoyled  him,  which  as 
soon  as  pcrform'd  I  was  cal'd  to  the  door,  whither  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment was  now  brought  and  delivered  to  me. 

"  Then  returning  to  the  King,  I  entreated  His  Majesty  that  he  would 
prepare  and  dispose  himself  to  receive.  At  which  the  King  raising  up 
himself,  said,  '  Let  me  meet  my  Heavenly  Lord  in  a  better  posture  than 
in  my  bed.'  But  I  humbly  begg'd  His  Majesty  to  repose  himself: 
God  Almighty  who  saw  his  heart,  would  accept  of  his  good  intention. 
The  King  then  having  again  recited  the  forementioned  Act  of  Contrition 
with  me,  he  received  the  most  Holy  Sacrament  for  his  Viaticum  with  all 
the  symptoms  of  devotion  imaginable.  The  Communion  being  ended, 
I  read  the  usual  Prayers  termed  '  the  Re  commendation  of  the  Soul,'  ap- 
pointed by  the  Church  for  Catholics  in  his  condition.  After  which  the 
King  desired  the  Act  of  Contrition :  '  O  my  Lord  God,'  &c.  to  be  re- 
peated :  this  done,  for  his  last  spiritual  encouragement  I  said, 

"  'Your  Majesty  hath  now  received  the  Comfort  and  Benefit  of  all  the 
Sacraments  that  a  good  Christian  (ready  to  depart  out  of  this  World)  can 
liave  or  desire.  Now  it  rests  only.  That  you  think  upon  the  Death  and 
Passion  of  our  dear  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  of  which  I  present  unto  you 
this  figure'  (shewing  him  a  Crucifix) ;  '  lift  up  therefore  the  Eyes  of 
your  Soul,  and  represent  to  yourself  your  sweet  Saviour  here  crucified : 
bowing  down  his  head  to  kiss  you :  his  arms  stretched  out  to  embrace 
you :  his  body  and  members  all  bloody  and  pale  with  death  to  redeem 
you :  and,  as  you  see  him  dead  and  fixed  upon  the  Cross  for  your  re- 
demption, so  have  his  remembrance  fixed  and  fresh  in  your  heart :  be- 
seech him,  with  all  humility,  that  his  most  precious  blood  may  not  be 
shed  in  vain  for  you :  and  that  it  will  please  him  by  the  merits  of  his 
bitter  death  and  passion  to  pardon  and  forgive  you  all  your  Offences :  and 
finally  to  receive  your  Soul  into  his  blessed  hands ;  and  when  it  shall 


80  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

please  him  to  take  it  out  of  this  transitory  World,  to  grant  you  a  joyfull 
Resurrection  and  an  eternal  Crown  of  Glory  in  the  next.  In  the  name 
of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     Amen.' 

"  So,  recommending  His  Majesty  on  my  knees,  with  all  the  transport 
of  Devotion  I  was  able,  to  the  divine  mercy  and  protection,  I  withdrew 
out  of  the  Chamber. 

"  In  testimony  of  all  which  I  have  hereunto  subscribed  my  Name. 

JO.  HUDLESTON." 

The  Editor  has  been  informed  that  in  a  Diary  still  extant  of  Philip 
Earl  of  Chesterfield,  who  was  immediately  about  the  person  of  King 
Charles  the  Second,  the  particulars  of  father  Hudleston's  admission  to 
the  King  on  this  occasion  are  recorded.  M.  Barillon,  also,  in  his 
Letter  to  Louis  the  Fourteenth,  printed  in  the  Appendix  to  Mr.  Fox's 
History  of  the  Early  Part  of  the  Reign  of  James  the  Second,  written  im- 
mediately after  Charles's  death,  corroborates  Hudleston's  Narrative  in 
the  main  facts.  Hudleston's  introduction  to  the  King  was  certainly  in- 
tended to  have  been  a  secret,  but  Barillon  very  properly  believed  that  it 
could  not  long  be  kept :  "  cependant  les  femmes  de  la  Reine,  et  les  au- 
tres  pretres,  ont  vu  tant  d'allees  et  de  venues,  que  je  ne  pense  pas  que  le 
secret  puisse  etre  long  tems  garde."  Barillon  says,  that  Hudleston  had 
a  wig  and  cassock  to  disguise  him :  "  on  lui  donna  une  perruque  et  una 
cassaque  pour  le  deguiser."  The  Duke  of  York  who  introduced  him  to 
the  King  said,  "  Sire,  voici  un  homme  qui  vous  a  sauve  la  vie,  et  qui  vient 
a  cette  heure  pour  sauver  votre  ame.  Le  Roi  repondit,  qu''il  soil  le  bieti 
venu.^'     Hudleston's  Interview  lasted  for  three  quarters  of  an  hour. 


LETTERS 


THE  REIGNS  OF 


KING  JAMES  THE  SECOND, 


AND 


K.  WILLIAM  AND  QUEEN  MARY. 


VOL.  IV.    SER.  2. 


The  Letters  of  the  Reigns  of  KING  JAMES  the  SECOND  and 
KING  WILLIAM  and  QUEEN  IMARY  are  here  combined,  not 
only  because  it  is  impossible  to  separate  one  Reign  from  the  other  at  the 
immediate  moment  of  the  Revolution,  but  because  King  James  retained 
possession  of  a  part  of  his  Irish  territory  till  the  Battle  of  the  Boyne 
drove  him  finally  from  his  Dominions. 

Of  the  Reign  of  KING  WILLIAM  alone,  Two  Letters  only  are 
given. 

Those  which  relate  to  the  Revolution  tell  the  daily  story  of  their 
time.  A  political  Change  of  such  importance  never  perhaps  took  place 
in  any  Country  with  less  of  violence  and  bloodshed.  Public  Feeling  was 
certainly  moderated,  if  it  was  not  entirely  subdued,  by  the  recollections 
of  the  Great  Rebellion. 


ORIGIKAL  LETTERS.  85 


LETTER  CCCXXVI. 


to  Mr.  Ellis,  Secretary  of  the  Re- 
venue in  Ireland.  Hampden  said  to  be  reprieved. 
Some  of  the  Bishops  JaUing  out  qfjavour. 

[ms.  dokat.  4194.  pag.  1.  Orig.'\ 

*0*  This  with  numerous  other  Letters  in  the  Donation  Volume,  4194, 
many  of  which  are  here  transcribed,  are  without  the  signature  of  the 
writer.  The  Post-marks,  however,  authenticate  the  transmission  of  the 
Letters,  and  a  Seal  of  Arms  upon  two  or  three,  affords  a  presumption 
that  the  name  of  the  writer  must  have  been  the  same  with  that  of  the 
person  to  whom  the  Letters  were  sent.  The  Arms  are  those  of  Ellis  of 
the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire.  The  writer  was  probably  a  cousin  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Revenue  in  Ireland ;  from  passages  in  one  or  two  of  the 
Letters  he  could  not  have  been  a  brother.  He  held  a  post  about  the  Go- 
vernment, and  in  one  or  two  instimces  mentions  himself  as  attending  King 
James's  Levies. 


London,  Jan.  5'^  168 ^ 
Dear  Sir, 

I  HAD  yours  of  the  19'^  I  suppose,  but  it  bore  no 

date.     I  hope  your  Lord  Lieutenant  is  safely  arrived 

by  this  time,  though  some  of  our  inspired  folks  said 

on  Saturday  he  was  cast  away,  and  he  could  not  be 

at  the  water-side  till  Thursday  evening.      The  whole 

discourse  both  in  City  and  amongst  the  under-spurr- 

leathers  of  the  Court  is  that  Hambden  is  to  die  on 

Friday, a  but  he  himself  has  better  knowledge  of  what 

•  John  Hampden,  Esq.   He  had  been  arraifpied  for  hiRh-treason,  a»  connected  with 
Lord  Russel,  and  had  pleaded  guilty. 

a  2 


84 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


usage  he  is  likely  to  receive  from  Court ;  and  I  am 
well  informed  that  the  warrant  that  they  say  was  signed 
for  his  execution  was  a  reprieve;  though  in  the  Re- 
corder"'s  Roll  of  the  condemned,  his  name  was  crossed 
amongst  the  designed  for  execution.  A  strong  report 
now  goes  likewise  of  a  Session  of  Parliament ;  but 
those  behind  the  curtain  say  not.  I  apprehend  Dela- 
mer  in  much  danger ;  his  trial  comes  on  on  Thursday 
next  week. 

The  Bishop  of  London's  fame  runs  high  in  the 
vogue  of  the  people.  The  London  pulpits  ring  strong 
peals  against  Popery ;  and  I  have  lately  heard  there 
never  were  such  eminently  able  men  to  serve  in  those 
cures.  The  Lord  Almoner  Ely  is  thought  to  stand 
upon  too  narrow  a  base  now  in  his  Majesty's  favor,  ^ 
from  a  late  violent  Sermon  on  the  Fifth  of  November. 
I  saw  him  yesterday  at  the  King's  Levy,  and  very  httle 
notice  taken  of  him,  which  the  more  confirms  what  I 
heard.  Our  old  friend  the  new  Bishop  St.  John  gave 
a  smart  answer  to  a  (no  very  well  put)  Question  of  his 

M with  respect  to  him,  that  shows  he  is  not 

altogether  formed  of  court-clay ;  but  neither  you  nor 
I  shall  withdraw  either  of  our  friendship  for  him  on 
such  an  account. 

We  have  still  whispers  of  new  Law  men :   Chief 


»  Francis  Turner  bishop  of  Ely.  He  liad  preached  the  Sermon  at  King  James  the 
Second's  Coronation.  He  was  discovered  to  have  corresponded  with  the  Court  of  St. 
Germains.  and  in  1690  was  deprived  for  refusing  to  take  the  oaths  to  King  William 
and  Queen  Mary. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  85 

Justice,  Attorney,  and  Solicitor  General:  but  who 
succeeds  I  can  [not]  hear  yet  further  than  that  Allibone 
says  he  will  do  fine  things  in  a  great  place.  The  latter 
end  of  next  month  we  are  likely  to  see  you.  I  hear  of 
rare  matters  putting  in  order  in  Scotland;  Religious 
Houses  settled ;  &c. :  but  more  of  that  hereafter  as  I 
hear  the  bruit  of  it.  Leml'.  Kingdon  is  patching  up 
again.     Adieu  in  haste. 

For  John  Ellis,  Esq.  Secretary  of 
his  Majesty's  Revenue  in  Ireland, 
Dublin. 


LETTER  CCCXXVII. 

The  same  to  the  same.  Hampden  reprieved.  The 
Bishop  of  London  in  disgrace.  A  Pardon  granted 
to  Roman  Catholic  Officers  for  fiolding  their  com- 
mands without  talcing  the  Test. 

[ibid.  p.  3.  Ong.\ 

January  9"'.  168^. 

Sir, 

I  THANK  you  for  your  last  Letter.  I  gave  the  in- 
closed to  Sam,  who  is  well,  and  we  drank  your  health 
to-day  at  friend  Colletts.  I  suppose  it  will  be  no  news 
to  tell  you  that  Mr.  Hambden  is  reprieved,  and  it  is 
believed  will  be  pardoned;  or  that  my  Lord  Bishop 


86  ORIGINAL    LETTEBS. 

of  London  a  is  no  longer  a  Privy  Councillor  or  Dean  of 
the  Chapel,  which  places  the  Bishop  of  Durham  fills. 
Yesterday  a  Proclamation  was  ordered  for  the  pro- 
roguing the  Parliament  till  10'''.  May  next ;  and  then 
not  to  sit  unless  there  be  special  occasion.  This  day 
came  into  our  office  a  Pardon  for  the  Roman  Catholic 
Officers  now  in  the  Army  of  all  pains  and  forfeitures 
incurred  by  their  holding  their  commands  without 
taking  the  Test,  &c.  and  a  dispensation  for  them  to 
hold  their  commands  for  the  future,  notwithstanding 
the  Acts  for  the  taking  the  Test  and  Oaths  of  Alle- 
giance and  Supremacy,  &c.  Lord  Delamere  comes  to 
his  trial  on  Thursday  next,  for  which  a  scaffold  is  pre- 
paring in  Westminster  Hall. 

For  John  Ellis,  Esq. 

Custom-House,  Dublin. 


LETTER  CCCXXVIII. 

The  same  to  the  same.     The  Trial  and  Acquittal  of 
Lord  Delamere. 

[ibid.  p.  9.  Orig.'\ 

*^"  Henry  Booth,  Lord  Delamere,  was  accused  of  acting  in  con- 
junction with  the  Duke  of  Monmouth.  Lord  Orford  says  he  narrowly 
escaped  the  fury  of  JefFeries,  who  was  high-steward  upon  his  trial :  but 

•  Henry  Compton,  youngest  son  of  Spencer  earl  of  Northampton,  was  translated 
from  the  See  of  Oxford  to  London,  Dec.  18th,  1675. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  ^7 

Speaker  Onslow,  in  a  note  to  the  last  edition  of  Burnet's  History  of  his 
Own  Times  says,  that  JefFeries  behaved  himself  with  a  decency  and  a 
dignity  upon  this  trial  which  he  had  never  shown  before.  Lord  Dela- 
mere  was  afterwards  one  of  those  who  planned  the  Revolution.  Yet 
"William  had  little  affection  for  him :  he  made  him  Earl  of  Warrington 
in  1690,  but  afterwards  dismissed  him  to  gratify  the  Tories. 


16  Jan.  168^. 

On  Thursday  Lord  Delamer  came  to  his  Trial  in 
Westminster  Hall  before  his  Peers,  who  were  twenty 
six  in  all.  They  unanimously  acquitted  him.  The 
evidences  against  him  were  very  many,  and  the  cir- 
cumstances very  numerous  and  presumptive ;  yet  there 
happened  to  be  but  one  positive  witness  (and  he  a  very 
suspicious  one)  whose  testimony  was  invalidated  by  a 
cloud  of  others  for  the  Lord,  who  made  a  very  notable 
defence,  and  being  well  skilled  in  our  Laws,  and  withall 
a  good  spokesman,  gave  all  the  advantage  to  his  cause, 
and  good  entertainment  to  his  auditors. 

It  is  said  the  King  hath  already  ordered  that  Evi- 
dence (called  Saxton-'')  to  be  tried  for  perjury;  and 
when  he  hath  got  his  reward  for  that,  he  will  be  sent 
into  the  West  to  be  tried  for  high- treason  as  having 
been  in  the  Rebellion. 

This  fellow  also  was  the  chief,  if  not  only  evidence 
against  Sir  Robert  Cotton  and  Mr.  Offley,  upon  whose 
testimony  the  bills  of  high  misdemeanor  were  found 
against  them  at  Chester. 

*  *  #  #  # 

«  1 1  should  be  Saxon,  edit. 


88  OKIGINAL  LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCXXIX. 

Samuel  de  Paz  to  John  Ellis,  Esq.     Lord  Delamere 
has  an  audience  of  the  King:     False  Reports  of 
Quo  Warrantos  issued  against  Cathedral  Churches. 
Mrs,  Sedley  to  he  Countess  of  Dorchester.     Sir 
Henry  Waldegrave  to  be  Baron  Waldegrave. 

[ibid.  p.  11.   Orig.^ 


Whitehall,  19  Jan.  168|. 

▼  ^  vr  ^  ^ 

My  Lord  Delamer  was  admitted  last  Saturday  to 
kiss  the  King's  hand,  when  his  Majesty  was  pleased  to 
give  him  warning  as  to  his  future  behaviour.  The 
Gazette  tells  you  of  the  Orders  already  given  for  the 
proceeding  against  Saxon  for  perjury. 

iU-  ^  ^  ^  ^ 

The  King  has  shewn  great  concern  at  the  false 
reports  spread  abroad  of  Quo  Warrantos  being  out 
against  Cathedral  Churches  and  the  like,  and  in  order 
to  prevent  the  ill  consequences  of  such  like  false  re- 
ports, all  possible  care  is  taking  for  the  suppressing  of 
all  seditious  Newspapers,  or  Letters  commonly  read  in 
Coffee-Houses  and  sent  about  to  poison  the  Country. 

Mrs.   Sidley  is  making  Countess  of  Dorchester, » 

•  Catharine  daughter  of  Sir  Charles  Sedley,  Bart,  was  created  Countess  of  Dor- 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  89 

and  Sir  Henry  Walgrave  (married  to  Mrs.  ChurchilFs 
daughter)  a  Baron  of  his  own  name.''* 
Dear  Sir, 

Your  most  humble 
and  most  obedient  servant, 

SAM.  DE  PAZ. 

Mr.  Ellis. 


LETTER  CCCXXX. 


to  Mr.  Ellis.   Mantaffue  Hcruse  burnt. 

Mr.  Harbor d  ordered  to  surrender. 

[ibid.  p.  12.    Orig.] 


Whitehall,  the  21  Jan.  168|. 
On  Wednesday  at  one  in  the  morning  a  sad  fire 
happened  at  Montague  House  in  Bloomsbury,  occa- 
sioned by  the  Steward"'s  airing  some  hangings,  &c.  in 
expectation  of  my  Lord  Mountague''s  return  home,  and 
sending  afterwards  a  woman  to  see  that  the  fire-pans 
with  charcoal  were  removed,  which  she  told  him  she 

Chester,  Jan.  2<>.  1685-6-  Burnet  says  much  upon  the  agitation  which  the  advance- 
ment of  this  Lady  to  the  Peerage  brought  upon  the  Queen  and  the  Romish  priests. 

Mrs.  Sedley  was  as  little  restrained  In  her  conversation  as  the  Lady  Castlcmainc 
had  been ;  and  was  so  far  from  beautiful  in  face,  that  Charles  the  Second  used  to 
say,  his  brother  "  had  her  by  way  of  penance."  She  afterwards  espoused  the  Earl  of 
Portmore,  and  died  in  17 IT. 

»  .Sec  the  former  Scries  of  these  Letters,  vol.  iii.  p.  32<(. 


90  OKIGINAL    LETTERS. 

had  done  though  she  never  came  there.  The  loss  that 
my  Lord  Mountague  has  sustained  by  this  accident  is 
estimated  at  d£'40,000,  besides  .£'6000  in  plate,  and 
my  Lord  Devonshire's  loss  in  pictures,  hangings,  and 
other  furniture  is  very  considerable. 

The  Earl  of  Arran  is  very  dangerously  ill. 

A  Privy  Seal  is  sent  to  Mr.  William  Harbord,  com- 
manding him  to  appear  within  fourteen  days  before 
some  of  his  Majesty's  Privy  Council,  upon  his  alle- 
giance. 


LETTER  CCCXXXL 


The  same  to  the  same.     Public  News.     Countess  of 
Dorchester.     The  Princess  Anne.     Pepys. 

[ibid.  p.  35.  Orig.'l 


London,  April  6 »'.  1686. 
Yours  per  the  5"^.  of  last  month  came  on  Saturday 
hither  per  the  boat  we  concluded  lost.  The  busy  time 
of  Devotion  is  now  over  here.  His  Majesty,  God  bless 
him  !  one  of  the  zealousest.  Ten  hours  in  a  day  some- 
times. The  Court  returns  from  St.  James's  to  White- 
hall to-morrow,  and  go  not  to  Windsor  till  the  middle 
of  May ;  when,  also,  the  Camp  opens  at  Hounslow. 
Our  sparks  all  go  for  Hungary  to-morrow.     D.  Ha- 


1 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  91 

miltou,  Lieut.  Gen.  Drummond,  &c.  come  to  town  this 
evening ;  sent  for  I  imagine.  It  will  end  in  his  Grace 
becoming  Commander  of  Scotland,  though  the  common 
vogue  is,  he  was  sent  for  to  be  chidden  for  the  method 
of  his  management  since  he  became  a  Commissioner  of 
the  Treasury  there.  Our  Ministers  of  State  have  all 
retired  likewise  this  holy  season ;  Lord  Chancellor  to 
his  Country  House  near  Uxbridge,  Lord  Treasurer  to 
Twitnam,  Lord  Sunderland  to  Althrope;  either  for 
their  private  satisfaction  in  their  consciences,  or  to 
avoid  showing  in  town  whether  they  have  any  or  no. 

I  imagine  your  Countess  Dorchester  will  speedily 
move  hitherward,  for  her  house  is  furnishing  very  fine 
in  St.  James's  Square,  and  a  seat  taking  for  her  in  the 
new  consecrated  St.  Anne's  Church.  The  French  King 
is  not  right  yet,  though  little  is  said  of  him.  Madame 
de  Maintenon  makes  all  the  applications  to  him  that 
he  stands  in  need  of. 

I  hear  poor  Pr.  Anne  is  sadly  teased  about  a  new 

declaration  in  matters  of so  that  at  last  it  is 

agreed  to,  after  lying  in.  But  I  hope  it  may  not  be 
thus.     Say  nothing  of  it. 

New  equipage  in  great  splendor  is  every  where  to  be 
seen,  especially  their  Majesties.  Her  Majesty  is  won- 
derfully glorious  in  her  own  apparrel. 

Here  is  arrived  an  Italian  Prince  of  Piombino,  the 
greatest  spendthrift  in  the  world  reckoned,  for  he  has 
consumed  the  greatest  part  of  a  matrimonial  estate  of 


92  OEIGINAL    LETTERS. 

150,000-'.  per  annum,  and  the  Treasure  of  Three 
Popes.     So  it  seems  not  that  we  need  fear  his  poHticks. 

This  next  Term  I  am  like  to  be  confined  hither,  and 
then  what  I  shall  do  I  know  not.  Lord  Or —  and 
Oss —  come  next  week.  If  their  favour  help  not,  I 
will  see  you  for  a  little  to  wind  up  a  mean  bottom  very 
indifferently  worth  my  while ;  and  so  go  for  Paris,  and 
with  my  Lord  Denbigh  into  Italy  in  the  winter. 

I  hope  you  will  succeed  in  your  design  of  removal 
hither;  but  these  Lords  keeping  thus  out  of  town, 
puts  us  both  out  of  our  way.  Phil  has  many  wonderful 
kind  expressions  from  the  King,  so  that  I  imagine  some 
room  in  the  Navy  (where  they  rowle  in  money)  might 
be  found.  So  I  advise  you  to  solicit  hard  and  court 
kindly.  Sure  Pepys  would  value  Lord  Ossory's  re- 
commendation at  no  mean  rate,  though  Eure  and  he 
together  neglect  all  where  money  chinks  not.^  You 
may  be  sure  of  me  on  all  occasions. 

«  Samuel  Pepys,  Esq.  with  whose  Memoirs  the  world  has  been  so  recently  de- 
lighted, is  the  person  here  alluded  to.  He  was  Clerk  of  the  Acts  of  the  Navy.  Eure, 
as  he  is  called,  was  William  Hewer,  Esq.  a  Commissioner  of  the  Admiralty,  who  had 
been  Pepys's  servant. 

There  is  another  Letter  in  the  same  Volume  dated  London,  April  10*.  1686,  which 
speaks  in  stronger  terms.    The  writer  says,  "  I  shall  urge  your  monkish  brother  all 

I  can,  and  imagine  his  personal  interest  in will  do.    He  tells  me  he  discoursed 

Pepys  about  the  matter  who  told  him  all  was  settled.  I  know  the  griping  temper  of 
lK)th  him  and  Eure,  and  what  rates  every  poor  boson  (boatswain)  pays  for  what  he  has 
purchased  with  his  blood  and  many  years  hardship." 

One  cannot  upon  this  occasion  refrain  from  adverting  to  some  passages  in  Pepys's 
Diary,  even  at  an  earlier  period,  which  show  how  rapidly  he  obtained  his  wealth. 

Junes*.  1660.  "At  sermon  in  the  morning;  after  dinner  into  my  cabin  to  cast 
my  accounts  up,  and  find  myself  to  be  worth  near  100?.  for  which  I  bless  Almighty 
God,  it  being  more  than  I  hoped  for  so  soon,  being  I  believe  not  clearly  worth  2il. 
when  I  come  to  sea  besides  my  house  and  goods."  vol.  i.  p.  S6. 

Dec.  1660-1.  "  Myself  in  constant  good  health,  and  in  a  most  handsome  and 
thriving  condition.    Blessed  be  Almighty  God  for  it."  vol.  i.  p.  88. 

Oct.  30*.  1003.  "  To  my  great  sorrow  find  myself  isi.  worse  than  I  was  the  last 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  93 

Your  new  Chancellor  is  on  the  road,  and  I  am  going 
to  sup  with  Will  Legg,  Governor  of  Kinsale,  who 
follows  him  to-morrow. 


LETTER  CCCXXXII. 

The  same  to  the  same.    Judges  and  Serjeants  changed. 
Disorders  in  London  on  account  of  Popery, 

[ibid.  p.  44.    Orig.^ 


London,  April  Tl^K  86. 

•H,  *  *  Ht  * 

Here  are  a  new  set  of  Judges  and  Serjeants,  such 
as  they  are.  For  their  names  I  refer  you  to  the  Ga- 
zettes, and  for  their  virtues  to  those  that  know  them 
better.  Solicitor  General  was  put  out  on  Saturday, 
and  Powis  in  his  room,  a  very  young  counsellor,  but  a 
cozen  and  careful  man  in  Christian  causes.     The  At- 

month,  which  was  then  760/.  nnd  now  it  is  but  7 IT/.  But  it  hath  chiefly  arisen  from 
my  layings  out,  in  clothes  for  myself  and  wife."  vol.  i.  p.  247. 

Dec.  30'''.  1665.  "  All  the  afternoon  to  my  accounts,  and  then  find  myself  to  my 
great  joy,  a  great  deal  worth  above  4000/.  for  which  the  Lord  be  praised !  and  is 
principally  occasioned  by  my  getting  500/.  of  Cocke,  for  my  profit  in  his  bargains  of 
prize  goods,  and  from  M'.  Gauden's  making  nie  a  present  of  500/.  more,  when  I  paid 
him  800/.  for  Tangier.  81".  Thus  ends  this  year,  to  my  great  jcy,  in  this  manner.  I 
have  raised  my  estate  from  1300/.  in  this  year  to  4400/."  vol.  i.  p.  384. 

Dec.  81, 1666.  "  To  my  accounts  wherein  at  last  I  find  them  clear  and  right ;  but 
to  my  great  discontent  do  find  that  my  gettings  this  year  have  been  578/.  less  than  my 
last:  it  being  this  year  in  all  but  2986/.;  whereas,  the  last,  I  got  8560/.  Blessed 
be  God  !  and  I  pray  God  make  me  thankful  for  it,  I  do  find  myself  worth  in  money, 
all  good,  above  6200/.  Thus  ends  this  year  of  public  wonder  and  mischief  to  this 
nation."  vol.  i.  p.  497. 


94  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

toriiey  is  threatened,  but  yet  keeps  within  the  Bar. 
Many  more  new  matters  are  let  fly  abroad  to  see  how 
they  will  relish,  that  they  may  be  given  to  chew. 

On  Sunday,  the  London  hot-heads  were  bantering 
Mr.  Sandford's  Chapel,  got  away  a  cross,  and  set  it  by 
a  pump,  paying  very  disorderly  adoration  to  it,  with 
holloaing,  and  then  going  back  and  taking  a  crucifix, 
and  saying  they  would  have  no  wooden  gods  wor- 
shipped. These  frighting  the  priest,  but  not  hurting 
him.  Then  comes  the  Lord  Mayor  and  commands 
the  peace.  The  answer  was  in  a  scornful  way.  '  What ! 
the  I^ord  Mayor  of  our  city  come  to  preach  up  popery ! 
too  sure,  it  cannot  be  !'  Then  the  guard  militia  was 
ordered  to  send  the  rabble  away ;  and  asking  what 
they  meant,  the  answer  w;as,  '  Only  pulling  down 
popery ,"■  and  their  return  was,  '  If  that  be  all,  we  can- 
not in  conscience  hinder.'  But  vespers  not  going  on 
in  the  chapel,  they  dispersed.  By  next  Sunday  more 
matters  may  occur. 

The  King  went  hence  on  Monday  his  water  voyage 
to  visit  the  ships  at  Chatham,  and  returns  not  till 
Thursday  ;  and  I  shall  not  wonder  if  the  Scotch  regi- 
ment of  guards  now  quartering  at  Greenwich  be  quar- 
tered in  Cheapside  before  this  week  is  out. 

More  comes  to  my  knowledge  than  the  common  talk 
of  a  letter  will  bear,  or  than  ordinary  reason  would  put 
there. 

Twenty  thousand  swords  lately  seized  in  Stockton 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  95 

in  YOTkshlre,  and  many  people  buzzing  about ;  and 
from  Holland  the  Amsterdam  caballers  have  sent  spies 
that  have  very  lately  escaped  here. 

I  suspect  old  Macclesfield  has  put  his  blundering 
brains  to  work,  and  they  will  dash  out  his  son's  if  he 
have  any :  for  it  is  not  his  fault,  but  father's  flight  that 
keeps  him  in  fetters.  » 

The  Court  cares  not  to  stir  hence  till  the  latter  end 
of  May,  and  the  King  himself  encamps  with  his  army. 
1  will  say  more  as  to  yourself  on  Saturday. 


LETTER  CCCXXXIII. 

The  same  to  the  same.  King  James  drinks  the  Church 
of  England  as  established  by  Law.  The  Judgment 
in  the  Case  (^  Sir  Edward  Hales. 

[ibid.  p.  48.  Orig.'\ 

June  22d.  86. 
#  #  #  *  * 

The  King  they  say  dined  in  the  camp,  and  in  my 

•  Charles  Gerrard,  Lord  Gerrard  of  Brandon.  He  was  first  made  Earl  of  Newbury 
by  King  Charles  the  Second,  who  afterwards,  in  16T9,  changed  his  earldom  for  that 
of  Macclesfield.  H'm  flight  from  justice  is  noticed  in  a  Proclamation  dated  fh>m 
Windsor,  Sept.  7'^.  168S.  In  the  a"".  James  II'i.  he  was  convicted  of  high-treason, 
and  sentenced  to  die,  but  was  afterwards  pardoned.  He  subsequently  fled  to  Holland 
whilst  Monmouth  was  preparing  for  his  expedition,  and  thence  to  Germany,  whence 
he  returned  to  the  Hague  in  1688,  to  take  part  in  the  preparations  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange.  See  Onnerod's  Hist,  of  Cheshire,  vol.  i.  Introd.  p.  xlii.  note.  Kennet's 
Hist.  Engl.  vol.  iii.  pp.  443,  488. 


96  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

Lord  Dunbarton's  tent  the  other  day ;  where  after  his 
and  the  Queen's  health  had  gone  round,  His  Majesty 
was  pleased  to  renew  his  kindness  to  the  Church  of 
England,  by  beginning  a  health  to  it  as  established  by 
Law. 

The  judgment  in  the  case  of  Sir  Edward  Hales  is 
gone  for  His  Majesty,  and  one  of  the  arguments  and 
reasons  for  it  as  I  am  told,  is,  that  what  the  act  enjoins 
in  that  case,  being  a  service  or  ceremony  relating  to 
His  Majesty,  he  may  in  his  prerogative  royal  dispense 
with  it.  a 


LETTER  CCCXXXIV. 

The  same  to  the  same.     The  Appointment  of  Lords 
Commissioners  for  Ecclesiastical  Jurisdiction. 

[ibid.  p.  59.  Orig.] 


17  July,  86. 
In  return  for  your  kind  letter  of  the  7''i.  I  have  not 
much  to  send  you  worthy  your  curiosity.    What  takes 

•  "  An  Action  was  brought"  (against  Sir  Edward  Hales)  "on  thestat.  25<i'.  Cha.  II, 
c.  2.  for  the  penalty  of  500?.  on  account  of  his  executing  the  office  of  a  Colonel  of 
Foot  without  taking  the  Communion,  Oaths,  and  Test;  to  which  the  Defendant 
pleaded,  he  had  a  dispensation  under  the  broad  seal  to  act,  no}i  obstante  the  statute : 
to  this  the  Plaintiff  demurred,  and  in  conclusion,  judgment  was  given  for  the  De- 
fendant that  his  plea  was  good."  Life  of  King  James  the  Second,  publ.  by  Dr.  J.  S. 
Clarke,  vol.  ii.  p.  82.  Sir  Edward  Hales,  after  the  Prince  of  Orange's  arrival,  fol- 
lowed the  fortunes  of  King  James. 


ORIGINAL    LETTKIIS.  97 

up  most  men  here  is  a  new  Commission  that  His  Ma- 
jesty hath  issued  out,  whereby  he  is  pleased  to  consti- 
tute Seven  Lords  Commissioners  for  executing  and 
exercising  all  Ecclesiastical  Jurisdiction  :  viz.  the  Lord 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  Bishop  of  Durham,  and 
Bishop  of  Rochester,  Lord  Chancellor,  Lord  Trea- 
surer, Lord  President,  and  Lord  Chief  Justice  Her- 
bert. They  have  power  and  authority  to  visit  and 
correct  all  offences,  to  enquire  of  any  misdemeanors 
against  the  ecclesiastical  laws,  and  to  punish  the  same 
offenders  by  suspension,  deprivation,  and  excommuni- 
cation, and  other  church  censures,  according  as  they 
in  justice  shall  think  meet;  to  examine  into  all  irre- 
gularities and  immoralities  punishable  by  church  laws, 
and  even  into  Disorders  in  Marriages ;  and  to  call 
before  them  and  punish  any  offenders,  or  any  that  shall 
seem  to  be  suspected  persons ;  to  cite  and  swear  wit- 
nesses; to  punish  the  obstinate  and  disobedient;  to 
tax  and  condemn  in  costs  the  party  prosecuting  or 
prosecuted ;  to  have  a  Register  (who  is  Mr.  Bridgman), 
and  a  Common  Seal  with  the  circumscription  of  Si- 
gillum  Dominorum  Commissariorum  S,  R.  Majestatis 
ad  Causas  Ecclesiasticas.  For  all  this  Three  are  to  be 
of  the  quorum,  whereof  Lord  Chancellor  to  be  one. 
They  are  farther  to  cause  all  Universities,  Colleges, 
Cathedral  and  Collegiate  Churches,  to  bring  up  their 
charters  and  statutes  when  required,  and  the  same  to 
alter  as  they  see  cause,  and  to  add  to  or  diminish  from 

VOL.  IV.  SER.  2.  ir 


98  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

the  same;  and  where  there  is  room,  to  make  such  sta- 
tutes as  any  five  of  them  shall  think  meet,  notwith- 
standing any  law,  statute,  &c.  to  the  contrary.  This 
is  the  purport  of  it  as  far  as  I  can  remember. 

We  know  not  yet  who  succeeds  the  Bishop  of  Ox- 
ford. Doctors  South,  Hooper,  Aldridge,  Levett,  and 
Dr.  Parker  are  talked  of;  the  last  stands  fair  with  the 
King  and  is  now  at  Court.  ^  Lords  of  Powys,  Arrun- 
del,  Bellasis,  and  Dover  are  said  to  be  this  day  ad- 
mitted of  the  Council  at  Hampton  Court. 

Mr.  Ellis. 


LETTER  CCCXXXV. 


The  same  to  the  same.     Bishop  Compton  called  before 

the  Lords  Commissioners. 

[ms.  donat.  mus.  BRIT.  4194.  fol.  69.  Orig.'\ 

*^*  In  "  the  Life  of  King  James  the  Second  collected  out  of  Memoirs 
writ  of  his  own  hand,"  we  read,  "  It  was  not  long  after  the  opening  of 
the  Commission,  that  D^  Sharp,  rector  of  S'.  Giles,  was  complained  of 
for  using  reflecting  expressions  on  the  King  and  his  government ;  upon 
which  His  Majesty  ordered  the  Bishop  of  London  to  suspend  him." 


lO^K  Aug.  86. 
Yesterday  Lord  Bishop  of  London  appeared  be- 
fore the  Commissioners,  who  told  him  he  was  to  answer 

»  Samuel  Parker,  D.  D.  was  consecrated  bishop  of  Oxford  October  17'K  1686.  He 
died  March  20'''.  1C87.  His  Histoiy  of  his  own  lime  from  icco  to  icso,  is  sufficiently 
known. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  99 

to  this  Question,  '  Why  he  disobeyed  the.  King  in  not 
suspending  D' .  Sharp  when  his  Majesty  commanded  ?'' 
His  Lordship  saiji,  he  hoped  it  was  no  disobedience  to 
say  he  could  not  do  it  without  a  judicial  Act.  But, 
the  better  to  frame  his  4-nswer,  he  desired  he  might 
have.  First,  a  Copy  of  their  Lordships'  Commission ; 
Second,  his  Charge  in  writing ;  and  a  longer  time  to 
answer  to  it. 

First,  the  Lords  told  him,  that  no  Courts  granted 
Copies  of  their  Commission,  and  that  this  had  passed 
all  the  offices  to  the  Great  Seal,  whence  he  might  easily 
get  a  copy  :  Second,  that  there  was  no  libel  given  in  in 
this  case,  that  the  proceedings  were  as  in  the  like  cases 
summary  and  ore  tenus,  and  the  charge  being  but  a 
plain  easy  question,  he  might  give  it  as  plain  an  answer 
upon  the  place.  Third,  that  they  thought  any  long 
time  to  be  urmecessary.  However,  that  they  would 
allow  his  Lordship  till  next  Monday. 


H  2 


100  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCXXXVI. 

The  same  to  the  same.   The  Duke  of  Ormond.  Father 
Peters.     Lord  Tyrconnel. 

[ms.  DONAT.  4194.  fol.  91.  Orig.^ 


London,  Nov.  30*.  1686. 
Dear  Sir, 
I  FOUND  yours  of  the  10*.  here  when  I  came* 
last  Thursday  and  had  writ  on  Saturday  last  that  I 
knew  httle  what  to  write,  especially  Lord  Duke  of  Or- 
mond being  out  of  Town  in  Hampshire  to  see  a  house 
which  he  has  a  mind  to  purchase,  but  I  think  will  not, 
though  he  is  very  much  bent  upon  having  a  decent 
country-house  in  some  sporting  part  of  the  Kingdom. 
After  a  little  discourse  with  his  grace,  I  brought  you 
in,  and  how  desirous  you  were  to  be  beholden  to  him 
for  a  transportation  hither.  He  said  he  doubted  the 
difficulty  would  be  great ;  and  stumbled  at  doing  for 
me  what  he  formerly  promised ;  so  that  I  left  him  but 
indifferently  satisfied.  I  must  work  as  well  as  I  can. 
My  Dartmouth  interest  too  is  at  a  very  low  ebb.    The 

Jesuit  Jack  Peters  is  very  great  and  Tyr works 

by  him.    This  High-Priest  has  the  lodgings  in  White- 
hall which  were  the  King's  whilst  Duke.     Tyr 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


101 


makes  all  the  visible  preparations  for  the  chief  govern- 
ment of  your  kingdom,  as  coaches,  plate,  beds,  &c. 
and  Tho.  Sheridan  his  chief  secretary.  This  is  the 
public  vogue,  but  no  other  signs,  no  declaration  in 
Council,  nor  any  thing  in  the  offices ;  and  WilL  Shaw 
is  confident  he  wont  go  this  twelvemonth ;  what  reason 
he  has  for  his  confidence  I  cannot  see. » 

*  *  #  #  # 

If  Tyr.  comes,  the  Royal  Chap,  of  Christ  Church  is 
in  a  fine  way. 

Direct  to  Mr.  Wynnes  in  Germain  Street. 


LETTER  CCCXXXVII. 

The  same  to  the  same.     The  Affliction  qftlie  Princess 
of  Denmark. 

[ms.  donat.  MU8.  BBIT.  4194.  foL  1 18.  Orig.\ 


5'!'.  Feb.  168|. 
The  beginning  of  February  proves  still  fatal  and 
unlucky  to  us  here.     Upon  the  st^cond,  the  late  King 


•  The  Earl  of  Tyrconnell  went  for  Ireland  Jan.  11'''.  168|-  with  hig  Majesty's  Com- 
mission as  Deputy  of  tliat  Kingdom  ;  the  Commission  not  to  be  in  force  till  after 
fo\irteen  Days  of  his  arrival  there:  Lord  Tyrconnell  carrying  at  the  same  time  a 
letter  from  the  King  to  the  Lord  Lieutenant,  that  he  should  be  constituted  in  the 
interim  the  Lord  Lieutenant's  Deputy,  that  the  Lord  Lieutenant  might  come  away 
in  that  quality,  and  have  no  greater  person  there  than  himself  while  he  staid.  Letter 
of  Jan.  U'h. 


102  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

sickened,  and  upon  the  same,  three  days  ago,  died  the 
Lady  Ann  Sophia  youngest  daughter  of  the  Princess 
of  Denmark,  to  the  great  grief  of  us  all,  and  the  more 
as  that  it  happened  upon  the  heels  of  a  miscarriage,  ^ 
and  that  the  eldest  daughter  Lady  Mary  lies  de- 
sperately ill.  All  this  put  together,  may,  I  am  afraid, 
too  sensibly  affect  the  Princess  herself. 

***** 
We  are  told  L.  Tyre is  driven  back  to  Neston.'* 


LETTER  CCCXXXVIII. 

The  same  to  the  same.     The  Birth  of' the  Prince^ 

[ms.  DONAT.  BRIT.  Mus.  4194  p.  201.  Orig.^ 


l^fh.  June  88. 
Dear  Sir, 

In  return  of  all  your  favours  from  thence  I  can  send 
you  now  the  joyful  news  of  a  Prince  of  Wales.  God 
continue  it  to  us.  It  is  a  brave  lusty  boy,  and  like  to 
live.  Nothing  but  this  happy  incident  could  have 
justled  that  of  the  Bishops  so  soon  out  of  our  thoughts. 
What  will  become  of  them  I  know  not.  Thanks  for 
yours  of  the  1**. 

Mr.  Ellis. 

•  In  a  previous  Letter  of  the  same  writer  it  is  mentioned  that  the  Princess  had 
miscarried  January  the  2l«. 
^  The  news  of  Lord  Tyrconnell'o  arrival  at  Dublin  came  to  England.  Feb.  T^. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


103 


LETTER  CCCXXXIX. 

The  same  to  the  same.    D.  ofMonmoutKs  Citaplain 
pardoned. 

[M8.  DOKAT.  MU8.  BHIT.  4194.  fol.  208.    Or%g.\ 


June  21«t.  1688. 

#  #  *  *  * 

On  the  19 ''.  was  a  Trial  at  Westminster  Hall  be- 
tween the  Earl  of  Lincoln  and  several  Pawnbrokers 
who  had  received  divers  parcels  of  his  goods  that  had 
been  stolen.  The  Earl  indicted  them  upon  an  Action 
of  conspiracy  with  the  Thieves,  and  upon  hearing  of 
the  matter  the  Court  was  very  ill  satisfied  with  those 
sorts  of  Cattle  called  Pawnbrokers,  alias  receivers  of 
stolen  goods,  and  declared  them  to  be  one  of  the  ble- 
mishes of  the  government. 

#  ♦  *  »  » 
Nathaniel  Hook,  the  late  Duke  of  Monmouth  his 

Chaplain,  who  was  concerned  in  the  Rebellion,  and 
hath  ever  since  skulked  up  and  down  without  being 
able  to  obtain  his  pai'don,  threw  himself  lately  at  His 
Majesty's  feet,  desiring  His  Majesty's  pardon,  or  to  be 
speedily  tried  and  executed ;  since  now  life  itself,  as 
well  as  the  sense  of  his  guilt,  was  wearisome  to  him  ; 
whereupon  His  Majesty  thought  fit  to  extend  his  gra- 
cious pardon  to  him. 

#  #  *  *  « 


104  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCXL. 


The  same  to  the  same.  King  James  at  the  Camp  on 
Hounslow  Heath.  Pannel  of  the  Jury  at  the  Trial 
of  the  Seven  Bishaps.     Various  lesser  News. 

[ms.  donat.  BRIT.  Mus.  4194.  fol.  216.   Orig.] 


London,  June  28th.  1688. 
Sir, 

His  Majesty  was  pleased  yesterday  to  go  to  Houns- 
low heath,  where  the  Camp  opened,  and  a  battalion 
of  the  Guards  marched.  His  Majesty  did  the  Lord 
Churchill  the  honour  to  dine  in  his  tent.  In  his  return 
he  called  at  Richmond,  and  viewed  the  Palace  where 
the  Prince  of  Wales  is  to  be  lodged ;  as  the  Prince 
and  Princess  of  Denmark  are  to  be  at  Hampton  Court. 

To-morrow  (though  St.  Peter's  Day)  being  the  day 
for  the  Trial  of  the  Seven  Bishops,  preparations  are 
making  for  it  accordingly.  Ifs  a  bad  wind  blows 
nobody  good.  The  Officers  of  the  Court  will  get  well 
by  the  trial  for  places  and  conveniences  to  hear  the 
same,  which  are  sold  excessive  dear.  Most  of  the  no- 
bihty  are  also  come  up  and  will  be  present.  The 
pannel  of  the  Jury  as  it  was  agreed  on,  is  as  followeth 
Sir  Roger  Langley,  Sir  William  Hill, 

Sir  John  Berry,  Roger  Jennings, 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  105 

Thomas  Harriott,  Nicholas  Baxter, 

Geoff ry  Nightingale,  Nehemiah  Arnold, 

William  Withers,  John  Green, 

William  Avery,  Robert  Barre, 

Thomas  Austine,  George  Ford, 

Nicholas  Grice,  Charles  Prior, 

Mich.  Arnold,  Ed.  Harris, 

Thomas  Doune,  John  Walton, 

Richard  Shoreditch,  James  Supple, 

William  Hewer,  Richard  Cooper. 

Of  which  the  twelve  first  will  likely  stand  for  a  Jury, 
in  case  they  do  appear,  unless  some  very  legal  objec- 
tion be  made  against  them.  Most  of  them  are  known 
to  be  Church  of  England  men  :  several  are  employed 
I  by  the  King  in  his  Navy  and  Revenue :  and  some  are, 

I  or  once  were  of  the  Dissenter's  party. 

On  the  26**'.  M'.  Attorney  General  prayed  judg- 
ment against   several  Charters  and   Corporations  in 
f  England  and  Wales  that  are  forfeited  for  not  pleading 

to  the  Quo  Waranto  brought  against  them. 

#  #  *  *  # 

We  expect  Verses  gratulatory  upon  the  birth  of  the 
Prince  from  l)oth  the  Universities ;  and  also  from  the 
Society  of  Magdalen  College  in  Oxford,  in  a  particular 
b(X)k  by  themselves. 

We  are  told  from  Oxford  that  the  Convocation  voted 
against  an  act,  only  Obadiah  Walker  and  some  of  his 
friends  were  for  it.     Cambridge  seems  also  inclined 


106  ORIGINAL    LETTEKS. 

to   have   no   commencement,  but   it   is   not  yet  de- 
termined. 

The  Count  de  Grammont  is  dispatched  by  the  most 
Christian  King  to  compHment  the  Court  of  England 
upon  the  birth  of  the  Prince. 


LETTER  CCCXLI. 

The  same  to  the  same.     Trial  of  the  Bishops,  who  are 

brought  in  not  guilty. 

[ms.  donat.  BRIT.  Mus.  4194.  p.  219.  Orig.^ 


London,  June  the  30th.  1688. 

SiK, 

Yesterday  the  Seven  Bishops  came  to  their  trial, 
which  held  from  morning  till  seven  at  night.  We  gave 
you  an  account  of  the  Jury  in  our  last.  The  first 
twelve  stood ;  only  Sir  John  Berry  was  not  there. 
They  did  not  bring  in  their  verdict  last  night,  and  it 
is  said  they  had  not  agreed  upon  it  this  day  at  four 
in  the  morning. 

The  Counsel  in  handling  the  matter  for  the  Bishops 
divided  the  substance  of  the  information  into  two  parts, 
whereof  the  same  consisted.  The  first  was  that  they 
had  maliciously,  seditiously,  and  slanderously  made, 
contrived,  and  published  a  false  and  seditious  libel 
against  the  King,  which  tended  to  dimini^  his  royal 


ORIGINAT,    LETTERS.  107 

authority  and  prerogative  ;  the  second  part  of  the  plea 
for  the  Bishops  was  to  the  special  matter  of  their  Pe- 
tition, which  shewed  there  was  no  malice  or  sedition 
in  it. 

As  to  the  first  point,  much  time  was  spent  in  proving 
the  hands  of  the  Bishops.  That  of  the  Archbishop 
was  proved  and  well  known  by  several ;  but  that  of  the 
other  Bishops  was  not  otherwise  made  out  than  by  the 
belief  and  supposition  of  the-  witnesses ;  though  their 
own  servants  were  subpoena"'d  against  their  masters : 
so  that  the  Court  were  of  opinion  there  was  not  suf- 
ficient proof  of  their  hand-writing. 

As  to  the  Archbishop,  it  was  objected  that  he  could 
[not]  be  within  the  indictment,  for  that  it  was  laid  in 
Middlesex,  and  his  Grace  had  not  been  out  of  Surrey  in 
seven  or  eight  months.  To  this  it  was  answered  that 
his  signing  and  writing  of  the  Petition,  and  sending  of 
it  over  to  be  delivered  in  Middlesex  was  a  sufficient 
publishing  of  it  there ;  but  the  Court  was  divided  in 
this  point. 

Then  the  King's  Counsel  alledged  that  the  Bishops 
had  owned  their  hand-writing  in  the  Council,  and  had 
also  confessed  the  delivery  of  the  petition.  It  was  re- 
plied on  the  bishops'  side,  that  they  had  owned  their 
hands,  but  after  that  the  Lord  Chancellor  had  required 
them  to  do  it,  and  that  they  had  done  it  trusting  to 
their  Majesties'  goodness  that  no  advantage  would  be 
made  of  their  confession  against  themselves.    But  they 


108  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

denied  they  had  owned  the  delivery  of  the  petition, 
much  less  that  they  had  published  it :  and  there  being 
no  other  evidence  of  it  than  that  they  had  been  with 
the  Lord  Sunderland,  and  had  offered  his  Lordship  a 
sight  of  a  petition  which  he  had  refused,  nor  did  he 
see  them  deliver  it  to  the  King,  the  Court  said  it  was 
only  a  presumption  and  no  proof. 

As  to  the  matter  of  the  petition,  whether  a  libel  upon 
the  government  or  no,  the  Attorney  and  Solicitor  Ge- 
neral maintained  it  was,  for  that  it  boldly  meddled 
with  the  acts  of  the  government,  declaring  His  Ma- 
jesty's toleration  to  be  illegal,  and  thereby  tending  to 
diminish  the  King's  authority  and  prerogative  royal. 

To  this  the  Bishops'  Counsel  replied,  that  they  had 
done  but  what  was  the  right  of  every  subject,  to  peti- 
tion the  King ;  and  that,  in  matter  of  conscience  and 
upon  the  account  of  religion,  they  were  by  their  oaths 
and  by  laws  of  the  land  to  take  care  of;  and  quoted 
several  laws  and  statutes  to  the  purpose.  They  urged 
also  that  they  did  not  declare  the  King's  declaration 
of  indulgence  to  be  illegal,  but  said  only  that  the  par- 
liaments of  62,  72,  and  85,  had  declared  so ;  where- 
upon the  Journals  of  the  Lords  and  Commons  were 
read. 

The  Court  was  also  divided  in  this  point.  The 
Chief  Justice  and  J.  Allebone  said  that  it  was  a  libel ; 
but  J.  Powell  and  Holloway  were  of  a  contrary  opinion. 

The  Attorney  and  Solicitor  were  only  for  the  King, 


ORIGINAL    LETTEKS.  109 

and  kept  their  ground  against  Pemberton,  Sawyer, 
Finch,  PoUexfen,  Treby,  and  Sommers,  who  were  for 
the  bishops. 

This  morning  between  ten  and.  eleven  the  Jury 
brought  in  their  verdict,  the  bishops  attending  in 
court,  NOT  GUILTY  in  part  or  whole:  which  causes 
great  joy. 

For  John  Ellis,  Esq.  Secretary  to 
the  Commissioners  for  the  Revenue 
of  Ireland,  Dublin. 


LETTER  CCCXLII. 


The  same  to  the  same.     Disorders  of  the  Populace 
upon  the  Acquittal  of  the  Bishops. 

[ms.  donat.  4194.  p.  221.  Orig.] 


London,  July  the  3d,  1688. 
Sir, 
The  jury  having  brought  in  their  verdict  of  not 
guilty  upon  the  bishops  on  Saturday  morning,  the  un- 
ruly Mobile  broke  out  into  wild  huzzas  and  acclama- 
tions. Some  of  the  gown  were  also  observed  to  be  as 
loud  as  any ;  for  which  the  Attorney  General  caused 
one  of  Gray"'s  Inn  to  be  seized,  and  bound  him  to  an- 


110  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

swer  to  an  information  ;  the  Solicitor  General  was  like 
to  catch  another,  but  that  he  narrowly  escaped  in  the 
crowd. 

The  giddy  rabble  continued  their  disorderly  joys 
till  Sunday  morning,  making  bonefires  all  Saturday 
night  and  committing  some  insolencies  where  they 
found  no  contributions.  Several  were  wounded,  others 
were  robbed ;  and  many  will  be  called  to  an  account 
this  week,  that  the  Quarter  Sessions  do  begin. 

Yesterday  the  Lord  Mayor  appeared  before  the 
King  and  his  Council  to  give  account  of  those  few 
bonefires  which  were  made  in  the  city  by  some  of  too 
fiery  and  indiscreet  zeal. 


LETTER  CCCXLIIL 


Changes  in  the  Privy  Council,  ^c.  The  King  dines 
ui  the  Camp  twice  a  week.  The  Prince  declared 
Prince  of  Wales.     Changes  in  Westminster  Hall. 

[MS.  DONAT.  4194.  p.  228,   Orig.] 


London,  July  7^''.  1688. 
Sir, 

Last  night  his  Majesty  was  pleased  to  admit  of  his 

most  honourable  Privy  Council  these  persons  following: 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  Ill 

viz.  Sir  John  Trevor,  Knight,  Master  of  the  Rolls, 
Mr.  Sylas  Titus  (commonly  called  Colonel  Titus),  and 
Christopher  Vane,  Esq.  son  of  the  late  Sir  Henry 
Vane,  a  person  of  good  estate  in  the  county  of 
Durham. 

His  Majesty  is  so  much  pleased  with  the  care  and 
ability  of  Sir  William  W^illiams,  his  Solicitor  General, 
particularly  in  his  late  behaviour  about  the  trial  of  the 
bishops,  that  he  has  been  pleased  to  confer  the  honour 
of  a  baronet  upon  him. 

His  Majesty  dines  at  the  Camp  most  commonly 
twice  a  week,  as  he  did  last  Wednesday  with  Major 
General  Worden,  where  there  were  eight  regiments  of 
horse,  besides  six  or  seven  thousand  foot  drawn  up. 

Their  Majesties  and  the  Prince  continue  in  very 
good  health.  The  King  hath  declared  the  Prince, 
Prince  of  Wales,  though  he  is  not  yet  created,  and 
hath  ordered  him  to  be  prayed  for  in  all  churches  under 
that  title.  About  fifteen  days  hence  the  Court  will 
be  removing  to  Windsor,  and  the  Prince  to  Richmond. 

About  the  10 ''.  of  this  month  the  Queen^s  Majesty 
intends  to  come  abroad,  her  Month  being  then  out ; 
and  to  welcome  Her  Majesty  there  are  eight  or  nine 
vast  Engines  made  upon  the  Thames  of  different  forms 
and  figures  which  are  to  play  several  sorts  of  Fire- 
works within  a  few  nights  after. 

#  *  *  #  # 

Since  the  trial  of  the  bishops.  Sir  Richard  Holloway 


112  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

and  Sir  John  Powell,  two  of  the  judges  of  the  King's 
Bench  Court,  have  had  their  quietus  sent  them. 
*  #  #  *  * 

It  is  commonly  discoursed  that  there  are  some  other 
changes  to  be  in  Westminster  Hall ;  and  if  so,  it  is 
generally  believed  that  his  Majesty  will  have  a  gra- 
cious regard  to  the  merits  and  great  capacity  of  Sir 
William  Williams  his  Solicitor  General. 


LETTER  CCCXLIV. 


The  same  to  the  same.     Joy  at  Rome  upon  the  birth 
of' the  Prince  of  Wales. 

[ms.  donat.  BRIT.  Mus.  4194.  p.  239.  Orig.] 


London,  July  17'h.  1688. 

^  ^  ¥^  ^  # 

This  Evening  the  Fireworks  upon  the  Thames 
will  be  played.  The  devices  of  them  are  very  inge- 
nious, and  too  long  to  be  here  inserted.  There  are 
several  thousands  of  Baloons  that  are  to  be  shot  into 
the  air,  and  then  to  fall  into  the  River  and  represent 
several  figures.  There  are  twelve  Mortar-pieces  that 
are  to  cast  granado  shells  into  the  air,  which  when 


ORIGINATE    LETTERS.  113 

they  break  will  discover  odd  mixtures  and  shapes ;  the 
figure  of  Bacchus  representing  Plenty,  out  of  whose 
great  tun  and  belly  are  to  be  discharged  about  eight 
or  nine  barrels  of  combustibles.  There  are  also  two 
large  feminine  figures,  which  represent  Fecundity  and 
Loyalty,  the  emblems  of  the  first  are  a  Hare  and  a 
Hen  and  Chickens,  each  of  which  are  in  their  proper 
time  to  act  their  part  in  the  magnificent  Show  of  this 
Evening. 

#  *  *  *  * 

Our  Italian  letters  continue  to  speak  of  the  dismal 
confusion  occasioned  by  the  late  earthquakes.  That 
they  had  now  again  taken  out  four  hundred  persons 
alive  from  under  the  ruins  of  the  Houses,  and  among 
others  a  Lady  with  child,  who  through  a  kind  of 
miracle  had  there  continued  buried,  though  alive,  for 
eleven  days  together,  even  without  drinking  or  eating. 
And  that  a  pillar  of  Fire  had  been  seen  to  fly  in  the 
air  over  the  City  of  Coritto. 

At  the  same  time  they  tell  us  of  the  extraordinary 
joy  at  Rome  upon  the  birth  of  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
and  that  it  was  expected  his  Holiness  would  suddenly 
nominate  M.  Barberino,  or  some  other  prelate,  to  carry 
his  Royal  Highness  the  blessed  clouts. 


VOL.  IV.    SER.  2. 


114  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCXLV. 


The  same  to  the  same.  The  Departure  of  the  Court. 
The  Prince  taught  by  the  Marchioness  of  Poiois 
his  Governess  to  present  a  Petition  to  the  King  for 
increasing  tJte  Number  of  Hackney  Coaches,  the 
revenue  arising  from  which  was  to  he  applied  to  the 
maintenance  of  Foundling  Children.  Circuits  of 
the  Judges.  Excesses  of  the  Mob  at  Amsterdam 
upon  the  celebration  at  the  English  ConsiiVs  on  the 
birth  of  the  Prince  of  Wales. 

[ibid.  p.  240.  Orig.'\ 


London,  July  19'^.  1688. 
Sir, 

Orders  are  given  for  carriages  and  other  necessaries, 
for  the  removal  of  the  Court,  to  be  ready  next  Monday, 
and  on  Tuesday  their  Majesties  depart  for  Windsor, 
the  Prince  to  Richmond,  and  the  Princess  of  Denmark 
to  Tunbridge. 

It  is  yet  uncertain  whether  the  King  designs  a  Pro- 
gress this  summer;  if  so,  it  will  likely  be  towards 
York.    But  the  Scots  would  have  it  somewhat  farther. 

The  Lady  Marquis  of  Powis,  govemante  to  the 
Prince,  hath  taught  his  Royal  Highness  a  way  to  ask 
already,  for,  few  days  ago,  his  Royal  Highness  was 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  115 

brought  to  the  King  with  a  petition  in  his  hand,  de- 
siring that  two  hundred  Hackney  Coaches  may  be 
added  to  the  four  hundred  now  licensed,  but  that 
the  revenue  for  the  said  two  hundred  might  be  ap- 
plied towards  the  feeding  and  breeding  of  Foundling 
Children. 

The  Judges  were  introduced  to  the  King  last  Sun- 
day by  the  Lord  Chancellor,  and  had  their  charge  and 
instructions  given  them  before  they  go  their  circuits : 
it  is  said  they  are  to  repeat  the  same  assurances  to  the 
Counties,  that  his  Majesty  is  resolved  to  convene  a 
Parliament  in  November,  and  to  direct  that  such 
members  be  chosen  as  will  comply  with  his  Majesty's 
intentions,  which  are  for  the  ease  and  quiet  of  his 
subjects. 

»  *  «  «  « 

What  is  said  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  having  sent 
five  Dutch  Men  of  War,  and  their  having  made  a 
descent  upon  St.  Christophers,  and  driven  the  French 
thence  and  seized  the  Place  by  way  of  reprizals  for 
what  the  French  did  at  Orange,  is  very  uncertain,  and 
is  an  invention  of  them  that  love  to  feed  the  town  with 
the  Air  of  Novels. 

The  mobile  at  Amsterdam  did,  at  the  English  Con- 
sul's celebrating  the  birth  of  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
commit  such  rudenesses  as  require  severe  resentment. 


i2 


116  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCXLVI. 


The  same  to  the  same.  A  Household  established  Jbr 
the  Prince  of  Wales.  The  acquitted  Bishops  hold 
Catechizings  and  Confirmations  in  their  respective 
BishopricJcs.  Their  example  followed  hy  the  Roman 
Clergy. 

[ibid.  p.  242.  Orig.^ 


London,  July  m.^K  1688. 
Sir, 

An  Establishment  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  his  house- 
hold is  made,  wherein  Sir  Stephen  Fox  is  said  to  have 
had  a  hand,  and  in  most  places  to  have  put  those  that 
are  or  were  his  own  servants  and  relations. 

On  Tuesday  last  was  solemnized  the  marriage  of  my 
Lord  Chancellor's  son  with  the  daughter  of  the  late 
Earl  of  Pembroke,  in  favour  of  whom  against  the  pre- 
sent Earl  a  decree  past  in  Chancery  this  last  term  ;  her 
mother  (who  is  the  Duchess  of  Portsmouth's  sister) 
was  present  at  the  marriage,  and  though  she  be  a  Ro- 
man Catholic,  yet  consented  the  rharriage  should  be 
performed  by  a  Protestant  minister.  This  match  af- 
fords matter  of  discourse. 

*  *  *  *  * 

The  bishops  that  were  lately  in  the  Tower  are  gone 
to  their  respective  bishopricks,  and  have  resolved  to 


0EIGINAL    LETTERS.  117 

hold  frequent  catechizings  and  confirmations ;  and  last 
week  the  Archbishop  began  at  Lambeth,  and  at  Croy- 
don in  Surrey,  where  the  Bishop  of  Gloucester  assisted 
him  in  confirming  some  thousands  of  children  that 
were  brought  to  them. 

This  good  example  is  followed  also  by  the  Roman 
Clergy  about  the  town,  and  last  week  Bishop  Ellis, 
assisted  by  Father  Poulton  the  Jesuit,'confirmed  some 
hundreds  of  youth  (some  of  them  were  new  converts) 
at  the  new  Chapel  in  the  Savoy. 

#  #  «  *  4K 

The  Bishop  of  Durham  is  still  indisposed,  and  has 
suspended  several  of  his  Clergy,  particularly  Doctor 
Morton  his  chaplain,  for  not  reading  the  Declaration  ; 
the  Bishop  of  Chester  is  said  to  intend  the  same  thing 
in  his  Diocese,  and  especially  at  Chester,  where  the 
Dean  is  affirmed  to  have  once  promised  the  reading, 
and  then  to  have  been  sick  a  bed  when  the  day  came, 
so  that  it  was  not  read  in  the  Cathedral. 

His  Majesty  returned  yesterday  at  noon  from  the 
Buoy  in  the  Nore,  where  he  spent  a  whole  day  in 
viewing  his  squadron  of  ships,  and  is  said  to  have  given 
orders  for  the  equipping  of  ten  more. 

The  Archbishop  and  the  Clergy  of  London  are  said 
to  have  had  several  conferences  with  the  chief  of  the 
Dissenting  ministers,  in  order  to  agree  such  points  of 
Ceremonies  as  are  indifferent  between  them,  and  to  take 
their  measures  for  what  is  to  be  proposed  about  religion 
at  next  Parliament. 


118  ORIGINAL  LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCXLVII. 

The  same  to  the  same.    Falsity  of  a  Report  concerning 
Father  Peters. 

[ibid.  p.  247-  Orig."] 

*,♦  The  person  called  Father  Peters  in  this  Letter,  was  Edward  Petre 
the  King's  Confessor,  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  Jesuits,  and  whom 
James  was  absurd  enough  to  make  a  member  of  his  Privy  Council.  He 
greatly  accelerated  the  downfall  of  the  King. 


London,  July  26"'.  1688. 
Sir, 

On  Tuesday  their  Majesties  went  for  Windsor,  and 
Tomorrow  the  Prince  of  Wales  is  to  remove  for  Rich- 
mond. His  Royal  Highness  goes  abroad  in  the  Park 
every  day  to  take  the  air. 

4|(  #  *  *  # 

What  is  said  by  some  newsmongers  about  the 
Town,  of  fovir  soldiers  having  shot  at  Father  Peters  in 
the  Camp,  is  false;  no  such  indignity  having  been 
offered  to  any  of  the  fathers ;  only  one  of  the  King's 
priests  happened  to  be  riding  six  or  eight  miles  from 
the  Camp,  as  two  soldiers  were  a  drinking  the  King's 
health,  and  out  of  gaiety  discharged  their  musquets ; 
and  this  was  found  to  be  the  fact  upon  examination  at 
a  Council  of  War. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  119 


LETTER  CCCXLVIII. 

The  same  to  the  same.     The  Prince  of  Wales  in- 
disposed.    The  Judges  and  their  Charges. 

[ibid.  fd.  263.  Orig.] 


London,  Aug.  7''.  1688. 

Their  Majesties  have  passed  three  or  four  days  at 
Richmond  with  the  Prince  of  Wales,  his  Royal  High- 
ness having  continued  indisposed  by  the  gripes  and 
looseness.  Several  consults  of  Doctors  and  Mid  wives 
and  Nurses  have  been  had ;  and  at  last  it  was  resolved 
his  Highness  should  have  the  breast,  and  a  fresh  coun- 
try woman  hard  by  was  had  on  Saturday,  and  he  hath 
since  sucked  and  been  much  better. 

The  Queen  is  resolved  to  continue  with  the  Prince 
at  Richmond  till  he  be  well  and  in  a  condition  to  be 
removed  to  Windsor. 

Councils  and  Committees  were  put  off  at  Windsor 
by  reason  that  the  King  was  with  the  Prince  at  Rich- 
mond. 

#  *  #  *  * 

Great  exceptions  are  taken  by  the  several  Counties 
against  the  Judges,  who  arraign  the  Bishops  in  their 
Charges  at  the  Circuit  Sessions  after  they  have  been 


120  X)EIGINAL    LETTERS. 

fairly  acquitted  by  a  Tryal  and  a  Verdict  in  the  King's 
Bench. 

Some  of  the  Judges  are  said  to  have  behaved  them- 
selves lukewarmly  in  the  matter,  and  to  have  foreseen, 
at  least  forethought,  what  disservice  to  the  Crown  a 
general  discontent  may  prove  to  be,  so  that  we  may 
expect  some  farther  change  in  Westminster  Hall  the 
next  Term. 


LETTER  CCCXLIX. 


The  same  to  the  same.  A  Wet-Nurse  provided  for 
the  Prince  of  Wales.  Death  of  Henry  Carre,  Va- 
rious News. 

[ibid.  fol.  267.  Orig.'\ 


London,  Aug.  9^^.  1688. 
Sir, 

At  Richmond  the  Prince  of  Wales  continues  to 

suck  the  Nurse  allowed  him,  and  it  hath  that  good 

effect  which  is  natural  and  usual  to  children,  and  their 

Majesties  returned  thence  this  day  to  Windsor.     The 

Nurse  is  the  wife  of  a  Tyle-maker,  and  seems  a  healthy 

woman.    She  came  in  her  cloth  petticoat  and  waistcoat, 

and  old  shoes  and  no  stockings ;  but  she  is  now  rigged 

by  degrees  (that  the  surprise  may  not  alter  her  in  her 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  121 

duty  and  care).  A  dfi'lOO  per  annum  is  already  set- 
tled upon  her,  and  two  or  three  hundred  guineas 
already  given,  which  she  saith  that  she  knows  not  what 
to  do  with. 

Yesterday  morning  about  three  or  four  o'clock  died 
that  pains-taker  Henry  Carre  author  of  the  late 
*  Pacquet  of  Advice  from  Rome'  and  of  the  <  Weekly 
Occurrences;'  some  of  our  chief  Newsmongers  are 
posted  to  Windsor  to  put  in  for  his  places. 

The  Judges  at  Oxford  made  strict  inquiry  after 
those  scholars  who  had  rescued  the  townsmen  from 
the  constable  for  abusing  of  Obadiah  Walker,  and  the 
High  Sheriff  of  the  County  recommended  it  to  their 
Lordships'  cares  in  an  elegant  but  short  speech  he  made 
in  the  Court,  to  this  effect :  "  Pray  my  Lord  let's  have 
Justice,  or  good  night  Nicholas." 

The  Marchioness  of  Powys  hath  had  a  Privy  Seal 
for  d^lO,000  to  be  paid  her  without  account  to  be  laid 
out  for  the  use  of  the  Prince  of  Wales. 

We  hear  his  Royal  Highness  is  to  be  proclaimed 
and  registered  upon  the  Council  Book  of  Ludlow, 
though  he  be  not  like  to  be  created  yet  for  some  years. 

The  Lord  Chancellor  went  on  Monday  morning 
towards  Canterbury  to  visit  his  brother,  who  is  one 
of  the  Prebends  there ;  his  Lordship  passes  thence  to 
Dover  to  wait  on  the  Countess  of  Pembroke  who  era- 
barks  for  France. 


12S8  OttlGINAL    LETTERS, 


LETTER  CCCL. 

The  same  to  the  same.  The  Prince  of  Wales  recovered. 
His  Wet'Nurse  has  a  Governess  to  look  after  her. 

[ibid.  p.  269.  Orig.'\ 


London,  Aug.  14,  1688. 

SlE, 

On  Saturday  last  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince 
of  Wales  was  removed  from  Richmond  to  Windsor, 
where  he  is  lodged  in  the  Princess  of  Denmark's  House 
(which  was  M's.  Ellen  Gwyns)  and  is  well  recovered 
of  his  late  indisposition,  to  the  joy  of  the  whole  Court 
and  Kingdom. 

His  Highness's  Nurse  is  also  in  health  and  good 
plight,  being  kept  to  her  old  diet  and  exercise.  She 
hath  also  a  Governess  allowed  her  (an  ancient  gentle- 
woman) who  is  with  her  night  and  day,  at  home  and 

abroad. 

***** 

The  Prince  of  Orange  is  now  forming  a  Camp  near 
Maestricht,  and  'tis  said  the  Elector  of  Brandenburgh 
and  other  neighbour  Princes  are  to  have  bodies  of  men 
within  call,  to  join  if  there  shall  be  occasion.** 

»  The  secret  Confederacy  between  the  Priiice  of  Orange  and  the  Elector  of  Bran- 
denburgh at  this  time,  was  celebrated  by  the  latter  on  a  Medal.  The  Obverse  repre- 
sented the  Elector's  bust  to  the  right,  hair  long,  in  armour  with  a  mantle:  the 
l^egend.  FRIDER  .  HI .  D  .  G  .  M  .  BRAND  .  S  .  R  .  I  .  A  .  C  .  ET  .  ELECT. 
•  R .  FALTz.'  The  Reverse  bore  a  whole  length  figure  of  Juno  her  finger  to  her 
mouth,  a  sceptre  in  her  left  hand,  and  an  Eagle  at  her  feet.  A  Fleet  in  the  distance. 
Legend,  EXPED  .  BRITAN  .  CONSIL  .  ET  .  ARMIS  .  ADIVTA.  Exergue, 
1688.  R.  F. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  123 


LETTER  CCCLI. 

The  same  to  the  same.     The  Queen  Dowager. 

[ibid.  p.  296.  Orig.'\ 


Lond.  Sept.  8"'.  1688. 
The  Queen  Dowager  thinks  of  going  to  live  re- 
tiredly, and  to  receive  no  visits  but  from  the  Royal 
Family. 


LETTER  CCCLII. 


The  same  to  the  same.     Writs  to  be  issued  Jbr  the 

Parliament. 

[m8.  dokat.  4194  p.  298.  Orig.^ 


Lond.  Sept.  15th.  1688. 
The   Lord  Chancellor  hath    been   in  town    since 
Wednesday.     The  Parliament  Writs  are  all  ready, 
and  will  be  sealed  and  delivered  out  next  Tuesday. 

The  Elector  again  repealed  this  Medal  when  King  of  Prussia.  Obv.  his  bust  to  the 
right,  laureate,  shoulders  bare.  Leg.  FRIDERICVS  .  D  .G  .  UEX  .  BOUVSSIAE. 
<  v  .  MAM,.'    The  Reverse  was  from  the  same  die  tm  the  preceding  Medal. 

Frederick  did  not  assume  the  royal  title  till  the  month  of  January,  1701.  His 
Kingdom  was  acknowledged  in  1T13  by  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht  He  lent  WillLani 
al;out  six  thousand  troops. 

The  King  of  Denmark  also  issued  a  Medal  at  this  time.  On  the  Obverse  a  large 
Fleet.  On  the  Reverse  this  Inscription  within  a  wreath,  A  CHRISTIANO  .  V  . 
MISSVM  .  WILHELMO  III  .  AVXILIVM  .  Vll  .  M  .  MILITVM.  Exergue, 
MDCLXXXIX.  These  troops  were  actually  furnished;  they  were  landed  in 
England  and  Scotland,  and  were  employed  in  Ireland. 


124  ORIGINAL    LETTEUS. 


LETTER  CCCLIII. 

The  same  to  the  same.     Court  News.     Mr.  Skelton 
the  late  Envoi/  at  Paris  committed  to  the  Tower. 

[ibid.  p.  304.  Orig.] 


London,  Sept.  20*^  1688. 

On  Monday  night  the  Princess  of  Denmark  came 
to  Whitehall  from  Tunbridge,  and  on  Tuesday  came 
the  King  from  Windsor,  and  this  day  her  Majesty  the 
Queen  and  Prince  of  Wales  are  expected. 

Yesterday  his  Majesty  went  down  the  river  to 
Chatham  to  view  the  ships  that  are  there  fitting  out, 
which  we  are  told  are  five  and  three  fire  ships,  to  be 
added  to  the  fleet. 

We  hear  no  more  of  the  Dutch  Fleet  or  of  its  de- 
sign. Our  last  Letters  of  the  14'^'.  left  it  upon  the 
Coast  of  Holland  cruising  before  the  Maes.  The  re- 
port of  its  appearing  upon  our  Coast  was  a  mistake 
raised  by  our  timorous  oyster  or  herring  women  who 
are  concerned  for  their  trade. 

On  Tuesday  night  there  was  a  Council  held  at 
Whitehall  where  the  case  of  M'*  Skelton,  his  Majesty's 
JEnvoye  at  Paris,  was  taken  into  consideration.  He 
had  landed  at  Deal  but  the  day  before,  and  after 
Council  on  Tuesday  he  was  sent  prisoner  to  the  Tower. 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS.  125 

What  his  crime  is  we  yet  know  not,  but  are  told  it  is 
some  false  step  he  made  to  the  Court  of  France,  by 
meddling  with  what  he  had  no  instructions  for,  and  by 
exceeding  his  commission.  The  further  particulars 
whereof  you  may  have  hereafter. » 

#  *  #  «  « 

The  Parliament  Writs  were  delivered  yesterday. 


LETTER  CCCLIV. 


The  same  to  the  same.     Mr.  Skelton.     The  Mayor  of' 
Scarborough  tossed  in  a  Blanket. 

[ibid.  p.  310.  Orig.'\ 


London,  Sept.  22,  1688. 

M"".  Skelton  is  still  in  the  Tower,  and  is  in  more 
danger  than  was  at  first  apprehended. 

We  hear  no  further  of  the  Dutch  fleet. 

Capt.  Ouseley  is  said  to  be  come  to  town  to  give  his 
reasons  for  tossing  the  Mayor  of  Scarborough  in  a 
blanket.  As  a  part  of  his  Plea  he  has  brouglit  with 
him  a  collection  of  Articles  against  the  said  Mayor,  and 
the  attestations  of  many  Gentlemen  of  note. 


«  Compare  Burnet's  Hist,  of  his  Own  Times,  e»lit.  Oxf.  1828.  vol.  iii.  pp.  12  and 
768.    He  was  afterwards  Constable  of  the  Tower. 


126  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCLV. 

The  same  to  the  same.  The  Mayor  and  Aldermen  of 
London  address  the  King  and  Queen.  The  King's 
Address  to  them  respecting  the  Dutch  Fleet. 

[ibid.  p.  312.  Orig.] 


London,  Sept.  25^h.  1688. 
Yesterday  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Aldermen  waited 
on  the  King  and  Queen  to  pay  their  duty  upon  their 
Majesties'  return  from  Windsor.  His  Majesty,  in 
his  gracious  return  to  the  compHment,  took  notice  of 
the  report,  as  if  the  Dutch  intended  to  attempt  upon 
England,  and  bid  them  not  be  concerned.  That  he 
would  stand  for  them,  as  his  Majesty  hoped  they  would 
stand  for  him ;  and  as  he  had  often  ventured  his  person 
heretofore  in  defence  of  the  Monarchy,  so  would  he  go 
as  far  as  any  body  to  do  it  still  against  any  body  that 
should  offer  to  disturb  our  quiet;  or  to  that  effect; 
which  renders  all  men  in  the  City  both  hearty  and 
unanimous. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  127 

LETTER  CCCLVI. 

The  same  to  the  same.    The  Prince  of  Orange  reported 
to  he  upon  the  point  of  emharlcing. 

[ibid.  p.  313.   Orig.^ 


27'h.  Sept.  88. 
We  are  told  by  Express  this  morning  that  the  Prince 
of  Orange  is  to  embark  on  board  his  mighty  Fleet,  for 
England  to-morrow,  or  on  Monday  next  at  farthest. 
This  puts  us  into  great  hurry  and  confusion ;  all  pre- 
paring for  a  brush :  and  it  is  to  be  feared  His  Majesty 
(whom  God  preserve  !)  will  venture  his  own  royal  per- 
son. Many  of  our  Nobility  are  said  to  be  already  with 
the  Prince. 

To  John  Ellis,  Esq.  Secretary  for 
the  Revenue  of  Ireland,  Dublin. 


LETTER  CCCLVII. 

The  same  to  ike  same.  The  King's  Proclamation 
concerning  the  intended  Invasion  of  the  Dutch.  The 
Dnkes  of  Ormond  and  Berwick  have  the  Garter. 
Hearing  before  the  Council  concerning  the  tossing 
of  the  Mai/or  of  Scarborough  in  a  blanket. 

(ibid.  p.  317.   Orig.] 


London,  Sept.  29"'.  1688. 
His  Majesty  last  night  in  Council  was  pleased  to 


128  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

order  a  Proclamation  to  be  published  touching  the  in- 
tended Invasion  of  the  Dutch,  whereby  he  animates  all 
his  loving  subjects  to  behave  themselves  like  true  En- 
glishmen, and  that  they  be  neither  daunted  with  Dutch 
prowess  (for  the  sake  of  the  reputation  of  English 
courage),  nor  suffer  themselves  to  be  carried  away 
with  those  specious  pretexts  and  insinuations  which 
they  intend  to  publish  in  their  Declaration,  when- 
soever it  be  scattered  abroad.  What  ought  to  incite 
our  courage  against  them  the  more  is,  that  they  are 
said  to  have  a  thousand  Saxon  horse  on  board ;  as  if 
Old  England  were  to  be  conquered  a  second  time  by 
that  Nation. 

***** 

The  Writs  of  Parliament  are  to  be  recalled,  and  the 
Elections  to  be  put  off  by  reason  of  this  unforeseen  in- 
cident of  an  Invasion. 

The  Bishop  of  London  could  not  be  found,  being 
gone  'tis  thought  to  his  Sisters  in  Yorkshire,  but  his 
suspension  is  taken  off.  The  Archbishop  was  also  in- 
disposed, and  could  not  wait  on  the  King ;  but  about 
ten  other  of  the  Bishops  have  attended  his  Majesty 
yesterday,  and  having  been  a  long  time  in  his  Closet, 
were  dismissed  very  well  satisfied,  and  one  of  the  chief 
of  them  telling  his  friends  that  Omnia  bene. 

The  Dukes  of  Ormond  and  Berwick  have  the  Gar- 
ters, and  were  invested  therewith  yesterday  at  a  Chap- 
ter held  on  purpose  at  Whitehall. 

The  Mayor  of  Scarborough,  and  Captain  Wosely 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  129 

who  tossed  the  other  in  a  blanket,  were  heard  last 
night  before  the  Council.  The  Captain  pleaded  his 
Majesty's  gracious  general  pardon  (which  is  in  the 
press)  and  so  both  were  dismissed. 


LETTER  CCCLVIII. 


Tlie  same  to  the  same.     The  Charter  of  the  City  of 

London  restored. 

[MS.  DOMAT.  4194.  p.  330.  Orig.\ 


Whitehall,  2".  Oct.  1688. 
Sir, 

This  evening  His  Majesty  called  before  him  in 
Council  the  present  Lord  Mayor  and  Aldermen  of 
London,  as  also  those  that  were  Aldermen  at  the  time 
that  judgment  was  entered  against  the  City"'8  Charter; 
and  as  a  mark  of  his  confidence  in  the  loyalty  and 
affection  of  the  City  (especially  at  this  time  that  the 
nation  is  threatened  by  a  foreign  Invasion)  was  gra- 
ciously pleased  to  restore  to  the  City  its  Charter  in 
the  same  terms  they  had  it  before,  to  the  inexpressible 
surprise  as  well  as  joy  of  them  all.  His  Majesty  told 
them  likewise  that  he  thought  the  Dutch  Fleet  was  by 
this  time  under  sail. 

To  John  Ellis,  Esq.  Secretary  for 
the  Revenue  at  Dublin,  Ireland. 

VOL.  IV.    SEB.  2.  K 


130  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCLIX. 

The  same  to  the  same.     Coffee  Houses  and  other 
Houses  which  dealt  in  News  suppressed. 

[ibid.  p.  332.  Orig.] 


London,  Oct.  9*''.  1688. 
*  #  #  *  * 

Yesterday  the  Lord  Chancellor  by  the  King*s 
command  directed  the  Justices  of  Peace  of  Middlesex 
to  suppress  all  Coffee  Houses  and  other  Public  Houses 
that  deal  in  News  Letters,  or  expose  to  the  public  any 
foreign  or  domestic  Newspapers  besides  the  printed 
Gazette. 


LETTER  CCCLX. 


The  same  to  the  same.     Description  of  the  Dutch  Fleet. 
Measures  taken  for  defence. 

[ibid.  foL  334.] 


London,  Oct.  2<l.  1688. 
Sir, 
The  Advices  from  Holland  continue  to  give  us  the 
same  account  of  the  Dutch  Fleet,  that  it  lies  (as  the 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  131 

Gazette  has  it)  off  of  Goree,  and  is  three  or  four  hun- 
dred sail  strong  in  capital  men  of  War  and  by  landers 
for  the  transportation  of  troops.  Their  Army  is  said 
to  be  about  eighteen  or  twenty  thousand  strong,  made 
up  of  High  and  Low  Dutch,  of  refuged  Frenchmen, 
English  fugitives  and  rebels,  and  such  like  medley. 
Earl  Maxfield  (they  say)  is  to  command  all  the  horse, 
and  Colonel  Sidney  the  foot,  and  our  late  Admiral 
Herbert  the  fleet ;  and  if  fame  be  true  he  is  to  carry 
the  Standard  of  England.  According  to  the  Dutch 
computation,  this  Army  will  have  conquered  England, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland,  in  six  weeks  time ;  and  so  far 
are  they  from  making  any  secret  of  it,  that  they  make 
it  their  public  brag,  and  it  is  the  common  talk  and 
vapouring  of  their  carmen  and  fishermen  about  their 
streets.  But  we  hope  they  reckon  without  their  host, 
and  that  England  and  its  old  renown,  is  not  yet  sunk 
so  low  as  to  be  made  a  prey  to  such  mongrel  invaders. 

We  hear  that  many  Noblemen  and  others  have 
prayed  and  had  his  Majesty's  Commission  to  raise 
men  in  their  Countries  for  the  public  defence. 

His  Majesty  is  said  to  have  resolved  to  march  in  his 
own  royal  person  (whom  God  preserve)  as  soon  as  they 
are  landed,  and  all  the  Court  and  his  Ministers  are 
preparing  to  attend  him. 

The  Lord  Bishop  of  Winchester  is  also  ready  to 
attend  his  Majesty,  as  he  did  against  the  rebels  in  the 
West. 

K  2 


132  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

Several  of  the  Monmouthians  that  were  pardoned 
after  the  Western  rebellion,  are  said  to  be  missing  now, 
whence  we  may  reasonably  conclude  (from  the  immu- 
tability of  some  men's  tempers)  they  are  slipped  over 
for  a  new  command  upon  this  occasion. 

The  City  is  unanimously  resolved  for  the  common 
defence,  and  the  London  apprentices  seem  eager  for  an 
opportunity  to  try  their  loyalty  and  briskness  against 
those  new  pretended  invaders. 

The  Lord  Dartmouth  is  gone  down  the  river  to 
hasten  the  Fleet  together,  but  will  be  back  once  again 
before  they  sail. 

The  Mayor  of  Cambridge  (though  once  a  Quaker) 

has  taken  the  oaths  from  the  Vice-chancellor ;  but  the 

Mayor  of  Oxford  seems  unwilling  to  do  it. 

For  John  Ellis^  Esq.  Secretary  to 
the  Commissioners  for  the  Revenue 
of  Ireland,  at  Dublin. 


LETTER  CCCLXI. 

The  same  to  the  same.  The  Society  of  Magdalen 
College  Oxford  restored.  Imprisonment  of  Hu- 
bert Bourke.     Various  news. 

[ibid.  fol.  342.] 


London,  October  13,  1688. 
Sir, 

It  is  very  certain  that  the  Bishop  of  Winchester 


ORIGINAL    LETTEES.  133 

has  received  orders  from  his  Majesty  to  repair  to  Ox- 
ford to  establish  Magdalen  College  there  according  to 
its  ancient  laws  and  statutes,  and  to  restore  Dr.  Hough 
the  president  with  the  rest  of  the  former  Society,  and 
to  expel  the  members  that  are  now  settled  in  that 
college. 

One  Hubert  Bourke,  one  of  the  evidence  and  nar- 
rative-men in  the  late  Popish  Plot,  being  lately  come 
from  Holland,  where  he  pretended  to  have  quitted  a 
considerable  employment  to  come  to  serve  his  Majesty, 
having  by  his  behaviour  and  language  given  occasion 
to  suspect  the  honesty  of  his  intentions,  was  seized  and 
clapped  up  in  the  Gate  House. 

Mr,  Goodwyne  Wharton  was  taken  into  custody  by 
one  of  the  messengers,  and  examined  touching  a  com- 
plaint sent  against  him  from  one  of  his  Majesty's  Gar- 
risons {as  if  he  did  somewhat  he  ought  not  about  his 
Majesty's  fortifications),  but  is  again  released  upon 
bail  before  one  of  the  judges. 

We  mentionetl  in  our  last  the  choosing  Sir  John 
Chapman  Lord  Mayor,  and  Sir  Humphry  Edwynne 
and  Mr.  Fleet  Sheriffs  for  this  next  year,  and  Sir  Peter 
Rich  to  be  Chamberlain.  But  we  do  not  hear  yet  who 
is  to  be  Recorder,  Sir  George  Treby  being  said  to  have 
refused  it;  Mr.  Common  Serjeant  acted  at  the  Old 
Bailey  this  Session  for  want  of  a  Recorder. 

The  Bishops  are  said  to  have  received  command 
from  his  Majesty  to  deliver  him  in  writing  what  they 


134  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

at  several  times  spoke,  which  some  think  may  be 
printed.  The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  has  also 
prepared  a  Form  of  Prayer  to  be  used  upon  occasion 
of  the  danger  that  threatens  the  Kingdom  at  present, 
which  is  in  the  press. 

The  Wind  has  continued  westerly  for  these  ten  days 
past,  which  we  believe  obstructs  the  coming  of  any 
letters  from  Holland,  and  keeps  back  the  Dutch  fleet, 
nor  do  we  yet  know  what  certainty  there  is  in  that  re- 
port, as  if  the  Dutch  had  declared  war  against  France. 
Some  of  the  Squadron  of  ships  that  cruized  in  the 
Mediterranean  are  returned,  and  joined  to  his  Ma- 
jesty''s  fleet  now  in  the  mouth  of  the  river.  •    ; 

There  are  not  above  a  thousand  men  yet  landed  in 
Chester  out  of  Ireland,  notwithstanding  the  great  noise 
of  our  jealous  spirits  about  the  City  of  London,  as  if 
there  were  a  thousand  for  each  hundred.  We  have 
no  foreign  Mail  come  in  as  yet,  three  being  wanting 
from  Holland,  three  from  France,  and  four  from 
Flanders. 

For  John  Ellis,  Esq.  Secretary  to 
the  Commissioners  of  the  Revenue 
in  Ireland. 


ORIGINAL    L£TT£RS.  135 

LETTER  CCCLXII. 

The  same  to  the  same.     The  General  News  of  the  day. 

[ibid.  foL  156.] 


London,  Oct.  27,  1688. 
»  * 

The  Wind  did  again  come  about  yesterday  to  the 
south- cast,  which  was  fair  to  the  Dutch,  so  that  it  is 
probable  they  took  hold  of  that  opportunity  to  come 
away,  especially  the  nights  being  so  clear  mid  light, 
but  to  day  it  is  south-west  again. 

Some  tell  us  of  the  Prince  of  Orange's  being  sick, 
and  that  the  bloody  flux  reigns  in  their  fleet,  some  foot 
and  horse  having  been  embarked  these  three  weeks  or 
a  month,  and  most  of  them  people  that  having  never 
seen  the  sea  before,  they  are  supposed  to  be  in  a  sweet 
condition. 

The  first  tempest  disabled  several  of  their  best 
Ships  three  weeks  ago,  but  the  storm  of  last  Saturday 
night  was  yet  more  violent,  so  that  we  expect  with  im- 
patience to  know  how  the  Dutch  Fleet  escaped  it, 
thirty  of  their  men  of  war  having  been  seen  abroad 
that  day  under  sail  some  few  hours  before  the  storm 
began,  which  in  all  likelihood  forced  them  back  again. 

The  Count  of  Nassau,  general  of  the  horse,  and  the 


136  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

Count  of  Solms,  are  said  to  be  on  board  the  Holland's 
fleet,  and  they  tell  us  that  during  the  Prince  of  Orange's 
absence,  the  Count  of  Flodrop,  the  Prince  Waldeck, 
and  Lieutenant  General  Alva  will  have  the  command 
on  the  frontiers  of  Guelderland  ;  Lieutenant  General 
Delvich  upon  those  of  Overyssell ;  the  Count  of  Horn 
and  Lieutenant  General  Webnom  in  Flanders,  and 
Major  General  Obdam  at  Bois-le-duc. 

The  King's  Fleet  under  my  Lord  Dartmouth  were 
seen  off  of  Essex,  sailing  towards  the  gun  fleet ;  there 
were  thirty-three  men  of  war  in  number,  and  sixteen 
fireships.  Some  of  the  biggest  ships  are  yet  in  the 
river,  and  will  follow  very  speedily. 

The  City  of  London  chose  one  Mr.  Rhunners  to  be 
their  Recorder,  but  he  declined  it,  and  since  they  have 
elected  Mr.  Selby. 

Mr.  Serjeant  Stringer  (whose  son  married  the  Lord 
Chancellor's  daughter)  is  made  puisne  judge  of  the 
King's  Bench,  in  the  room  of  Judge  Allybone  lately 
deceased. 

Great  noise  has  been  made  about  a  large  sum  of 
money  and  arms  found  in  a  Milhner's  house  in  the 
Pall  Mall ;  but  we  are  very  well  informed  it  is  only  a 
mistake,  and  that  though  there  were  several  trunks 
searched,  yet  there  was  nothing  in  them  but  books, 
which  they  say  belong  to  Colonel  Sidney,  who  went 
into  Holland  some  while  since. 

The  Depositions  about  the  birth  of  the  Prince  of 


ORIGINAL    LETTEllS.  187 

Wales  are  to  be  enrolled  in  Chancery,^  and  several 
lords  and  ladies  attended  this  day  to  that  purpose. 

For  John  Ellis,  Esq.  Secretary  to 
the  Commissioners  for  the  Revenue 
of  Ireland,  at  Dublin. 


LETTER  CCCLXIII. 


The  same  to  t/ie  same.     The  Prince  of  Orange  driven 

back. 

[ibid.  fol.  158.] 


27^''.  Oct.  88. 
We  have  neither  Letters  nor  Gazettes  from  Holland, 
and  the  Marquis  is  forced  to  keep  house  and  to  live  in 
ignorance,  and  to  keep  us  so  too.  The  Prince  of 
Orange  was  in  last  Saturday's  storm  ;  he  embarked  the 
19''',  and  last  Sunday  he  was  driven  back  in  a  shattered 
condition  upon  the  Dutch  coast.  We  know  not  the 
particulars  of  his  loss ;  three  or  four  hundred  horse 
are  said  to  be  thrown  overboard,  and  all  the  rest  in 
disorder ;  others  say  seventy  or  eighty,  and  some  small 
craft  lost  and  sunk,  and  two  men  of  war  disabled. 
My  Lord  Preston  is  made  Secretary  of  State,  and  my 
Lord  of  Middleton  removes  to  my  Lord  of  Sunder- 

»  These  nepoitition'ii  were  afterwards  printed  in  a  *c|)aratc  form,  m  folio  and 
octavo,  by  command,  for  general  cireulation. 


138  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

land's  Office ;  perhaps  I  may  stick  with  one  of  them 
still,  but  wherever  I  am  I  shall  always  be  most  faith- 
fully 

Yours. 

I  had  four  packets  from  you  on  Thursday. 

For  John  Ellis,  Esq.  Secretary  for 
the  Revenue  of  Ireland,  at  Dublin. 


LETTER  CCCLXIV. 


The  same  to  the  same.     The  Council  ordered  to  wait 
upon  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Denmark  with  the 
depositions  cmicerning  the  Birth  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales.     The  Prince  of  Grangers  Declaration  dis- 
persed about  the  Town.   Reports  of  the  Dutch  Fleet. 

[ibid.  fol.  336.] 


London,  November  the  3''.  1688. 

His  Majesty  hath  ordered  in  Council  that  the  whole 
Privy  Council  should  wait  on  their  Highnesses  the 
Prince  and  Princess  of  Denmark,  with  a  Copy  of  the 
Dejx)sitions  which  were  taken  and  sworn  unto  in  Coun- 
cil touching  the  Birth  of  the  Prince  of  Wales. 

His  Majesty  having  notice  that  a  printed  Paper 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  139 

called  the  Prince  of  Orange's  Declaration  is  dispersed 
about  the  town,  and  the  disperser  himself  (who  is  now 
in  Newgate)  was  seized  with  several  about  him.  It  is 
ordered  that  a  Proclamation  be  published  forthwith  for- 
bidding all  persons  upon  pain  of  High  Treason  to  read, 
write,  disperse,  or  conceal  any  of  the  said  Declarations, 
but  give  notice  thereof  to  the  next  Justice  of  Peace. 

Yesterday  the  Archbishop  and  all  the  Bishops  about 
town,  were  summoned  to  attend  the  King ;  what  past  is 
not  certainly  known.  But  most  people  do  conclude, 
it  was  the  King's  pleasure  to  communicate  to  them 
that  part  of  the  Prince  of  Orange's  Declaration  which 
concerned  them  and  the  Clergy,  it  being  (as  we  hear) 
pretended  in  the  said  declaration  that  the  Clergy,  among 
others,  had  invited  the  Prince  of  Orange  to  come  over. 
What  the  said  bishops  will  do.  Time  must  tell  us. 

The  Wind  hath  been  very  strong  and  fair  for  the 
Dutch  these  five  days,  and  yet  there  are  vessels  come 
into  this  river,  which  saw  their  fleet  on  the  other  side 
on  Tuesday  and  Wednesday  last,  and  letters  from  the 
best  hands  in  Holland  by  way  of  Flanders,  dated  from 
the  Hague  on  Tuesday  last,  do  aflirm  they  will  not  be 
ready  to  sail  these  eight  days :  on  the  other  hand  a 
master  of  a  ship  of  great  credit  on  the  Exchange,  that 
set  sail  on  Wednesday  night  from  the  Macse,  affirms 
that  the  Dutch  set  sail  that  evening  before  him,  and 
this  his  assertion  is  confirmed  by  letters  from  Nieuport, 
dated  on  Thursday  last. 


14)0  0E16INAL  LETTERS. 

In  meanwhile,  several  people  come  from  the  Country 
report  to  have  heard  the  noise  of  guns  going  off,  whence 
some  fancy  that  the  Fleets  may  have  been  engaged, 
but  having  no  account  from  any  good  hands,  there  is 
no  credit  to  be  given  it,  and  it  is  more  probable  that 
it  was  some  more  ships  sailing  out  of  the  river  to  go 
and  join  the  fleet  which  rides  about  the  Galloper. 


The  same  Volume,  fol.  344.  contains 

1.     The  Prince  of  Orange  his  Speech  to  the  States. 

Hague,  Oct.  IS'*".  Old  StUe. 
My  Lords, 

I  am  going  to  the  navy  to  embark.  I  hope  you  do  not  take  it  ill  that 
I  do  not  make  it  known  to  you  all  where  I  am  going.  I  will  assure  your 
Lordships,  that  what  I  am  designing  is  for  the  good  of  the  Protestant 
Religion  in  general,  and  of  your  State  in  particular,  as  is  not  unknown  to 
some  among  you.  I  will  either  succeed  in  it,  or  spend  my  blood  to  the 
last  drop. 

My  Lords,  your  trust  in  me,  and  kindness  to  me  at  this  time,  is  un- 
bounded ;  if  I  live,  and  make  it  not  the  business  of  my  life  to  make  your 
Lordships  suitable  returns  for  it,  may  God  blast  all  my  designs,  and  let 
me  pass  for  the  most  ungrateful  wretch  that  ever  lived. 

2.  Heer  FageWs  Answer  by  Order. 
Sir, 
My  Lords  the  States  are  not  at  all  displeased  that  you  conceal  from 
them  your  design ;  they  do  repose  an  entire  confidence  in  your  Highness' 
conduct,  zeal  to  the  Protestant  religion,  and  afiection  to  their  State ;  other- 
wise they  would  never  have  given  you  the  abs(dute  disposal  of  their  navy, 
their  armies,  and  their  money.  My  Lord,  the  States  wish  you  all  the 
success  in  your  designs,  and  have  ordered  a  Public  Fast,  and  Prayers  to 
God,  for  your  success  through  all  their  dominions ;  and  beg  it  of  your 
Highness  not  to  venture  your  life  and  person  unnecessarily,  for  though 
tiieir  navy  and  their  army  be  the  very  sinews  of  their  State,  your  person  is 
more  considerable  to  them  than  both. 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS.  141 


LETTER  CCCLXV. 


The  same  to  the  same.     The  Dutch  arrive  upon  the 
Coast  of  Devonshire. 

[bis.  DOXAT.  MUS.  BRIT.  4194.  fol.  161.  Ortg-.] 

6«'.  Nov.  88. 
Sir, 
Just  now  at,  Seven,  we  hear  the  Dutch  fleet  (five  hun- 
dred sail)  was  put  into  Torbay,  Exmouth,  and  Dart- 
mouth ;  all  conclude  they  design  to  Bristol,  but  will 
take  Exeter  and  other  places  in  the  way.  We  here  are 
in  good  health  though  in  some  hurry,  and  hope  for 
good  success ;  our  enemies  having  fed  these  two  months 
upon  a  biscuit,  two  herrings,  and  a  pint  of  Dortz-en- 
gelze  a  day.  We  hope  to  find  their  noble  courage 
much  cast  down.  When  any  thing  occurs  and  I  have 
a  minute's  time,  I  shall  give  you  part  of  it ;  a  Counter- 
Declaration  is  sent  to  the  press. 

For  John  Ellis,  Esq.  Secretary  for 
the  Revenue  of  Ireland,  at  Dublin. 


142  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCLXVI. 

The  same  to  the  same.     The  Prince  of  Orange  at 
Exeter, 

[ibid.  fol.  368  b.] 

lOtii.  Nov.  88. 
Sir, 

Yours  of  the  24*i\  past  are  but  just  come  in ;  the 
Prince  of  Orange  is  at  Exeter  since  yesterday  twenty 
thousand  strong,  he  hath  bespoke  ten'*  thousand  pairs 
of  shoes.  The  Country  is  not  fond  of  liim  nor  for- 
ward to  run  in  to  him ;  they  keep  good  order,  but 
cannot  prevail  with  Coll.  Strangways  or  any  of  his 
neighbours  to  come  at  them,  but  they  send  their  in- 
viting Letters  unopened  up  to  the  King.  They  want 
Oxen  and  Horses  for  draft.  Our  artillery  went  out 
this  day.  The  King  follows  next  Thursday :  so  that 
you  will  imagine  we  are  here  in  hurry  and  some  con- 
fusion. We  seized  a  Bag  of  Letters  and  a  Boat  of 
theirs  going  for  Holland. 

For  John  Ellis,  Esq.  Secretary 
for  the  Revenue  of  Ireland,  at 
Dublin. 

•  In  the  next  Letter  it  is  said  six  thousand. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  148 


LETTER  CCCLXVII. 

The  same  to  the  same.     The  Prince  of  Orange  still  at 
■  '         Exeter.     The  general  state  of  Affairs. 

[ibid.  fol.  369.] 


London,  Nov.  13,  1688. 
Sir, 

It  is  said  the  Prince  of  Orange  is  now  settled  at 
Exeter  as  his  head  quarters,  but  that  most  of  his  com- 
panions are  lodged  in  the  neighbouring  towns  ten  or 
fifteen  miles  off.  The  six  thousand  pair  of  shoes  which 
he  bespoke  at  Exeter  are  not  yet  ready,  and  so  we 
know  not  what  way  they  intend  to  take.  Others  think 
that  the  bespeaking  these  shoes  was  but  a  trick  to  drill 
on  time,  till  they  could  see  if  any  part  of  England 
would  come  in  to  them ;  but  we  are  assured  their  allies 
come  on  but  slowly,  all  the  West  being  quiet,  and 
almost  unconcerned  at  their  being  there,  while  they 
pay  for  what  they  have.  Some  of  the  scurf  and  meaner 
part  run  in  to  them  as  they  would  to  see  a  show,  but 
generally  retreat  the  next  day ;  most  of  our  Western 
people  having  ever  since  Monmouth's  time  been  much 
troubled  with  dreams  of  gibbets,  &c. 

The  Dean  and  Chapter  as  well  as  the  Bishop  ran 


144  OltlGIKAL    LETTERS. 

away  at  their  coming  into  Exeter,  and  so  would  most 
of  the  inhabitants,  but  that  it  happens  to  be  a  great 
fair  time  there. 

They  stop  and  rifle  all  Mails  and  Letters  that  pass 
that  way,  and  the  doing  of  it  now  in  fair  time  does  (in 
some  people's  opinion)  seem  as  if  they  looked  for  money 
and  bills  of  exchange,  and  not  letters  of  news.  Some 
tell  us  they  begin  to  plunder  and  imprison,  notwith- 
standing they  have  promised  the  contrary,  having 
taken  violently  ^6*300  from  the  Collector  of  Excise, 
and  thrown  him  into  prison. 

Though  there  has  been  a  great  noise  as  if  some  men 
of  quality,  Mr.  Wharton  and  others,  were  gone  in  to  the 
invaders,  yet  it  proves  false,  for  Mr.  Wharton  was  seen 
since  at  Court  and  other  places  where  he  frequents. 

Some  few  of  the  Maltsters  and  Butchers  of  Buck- 
inghamshire (most  commonly  those  that  owe  more  than 
they  can  pay)  are  missing,  and  supposed  to  be  run 
away  in  hopes  to  plunder,  not  to  pay  their  creditors. 

Great  endeavours  are  used  to  prevail  with  the  lads 
of  London  to  be  troublesome  under  the  pretence  of 
pulling  down  the  Popish  Chapels  in  Lime  street, 
Bucklersbury,  and  S^  John's :  some  scores  of  them  have 
rendevouzed  these  two  last  nights,  but  upon  beat  of 
drum,  and  appearing  of  any  small  part  of  the  Militia, 
have  scampered  away,  and  by  flight  provided  for  their 
safety.  The  Lord  Mayor  and  Lieutenancy  of  the  City, 
as  well  as  the  Officers  of  the  County  of  Middlesex, 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  145 

keeping  a  strict  eye  to  the  least  motion  that  is  made 
by  these  young  mutineers. 

Our  Fleet  is  still  about  the  Downes,  and  that  of  the 
Dutch  about  Torbay,  several  of  their  sea  and  land 
men  desert  them,  last  night  a  Lieutenant  of  one  of  their 
Men  of  War  was  examined  at  the  Council  in  White- 
hall, he  was  originally  a  Scotsman,  and  says  their 
Fleet  is  but  forty-four  sail,  and  twelve  fireships,  and 
.no  great  vessels  among  them,  and  that  they  begin  to 
want  provisions. 

We  have  no  farther  apprehension  of  a  party  of  their 
fleet  being  gone  Northward,  for  that  Major-general 
MaCay  who  was  to  command  them  was  one  of  the  first 
who  landed  in  the  West. 

We  are  told  the  Duke  of  Beaufort  has  broke  his^rm 
at  Bristol,  which,  if  true,  is  the  greater  mischance  at 
this  time  that  his  presence  is  so  necessary  for  the  King's 
service  at  that  place. 

The  French  go  on  with  their  conquests  in  Germany 
without  control,  it  being  sleeping  time  with  the  Ger- 
mans, who  did  not  expect  a  campaign  in  the  depth  of 
Winter ;  all  the  Palatinate  is  surrendered,  and  many 
of  the  Locks  of  the  Rhene  in  the  Electorates  of  Co- 
logne, Mayence,  and  Treues;  Coblentz,  the  famous 
magazine  and  fountain  of  good  Rhenish  wine,  is  bom- 
barded, and  quite  ruined  to  the  ground,  but  the  French 
of  a  sudden  retired  from  before  it,  likely  to  go  upon 
some  design  that  required  more  haste.     The  French 

VOL.  IV.    SER.  2.  L 


146  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

S 

are  drawing  men  together  towards  the  borders  of 
Holland,  being  loath  to  slip  the  opportunity  of  the 
Prince  of  Orange's  absence  with  the  chief  and  best  of 
the  Dutch  officers. 

For  John  Ellis,  Esq.  Secretary  to 
the  Commissioners  for  the  Rerenue 
of  Ireland;  at  Dublin. 


LETTER  CCCLXVIII. 

The  seme  to  the  same.     Lo?'d  Lovelace  taken  in  his 
wa/y  to  Join   the  Prince  of  Orange.     Dr.  Burnet 
reads  the  Prince''s  Declaration  at  Exeter.     Nexvs 
Jrom  the  West. 

[ibid.  p.  374.  Orig.'X 


London,  Nov.  15,  1688. 
Sir, 

Last  night  came  an  express  from  Cirencester  in 

Glocestershire,  with  an  account  that  the  Lord  Lovelace 

riding  through  that  town  with  a  strong  party  of  about 

a  hundred  horse  very  well  armed,  was  stopped  by  the 

Militia  of  the  County,  and  they  requiring  of  him  what 

was  his  business  to  go  so  armed,  and  whither  he  was 

a  going ;  but  his  Lordship  not  giving  any  good  answer 


ORIGINAL  lettp:rs.  147 

of  Iiimself  or  his  company  thought  it  his  best  way  to 
fight  his  passage  through,  and  charging  the  Mihtia, 
which  was  but  part  of  a  Troop,  they  came  to  blows, 
and  in  the  scuffle  one  Major  Louridge  and  his  Son  who 
commanded  the  Mihtia  were  killed,  one  Captain  Wil- 
liams and  five  or  six  more  wounded;  but  we  do  not 
yet  hear  how  many  of  the  rebels  were  killed ;  only  that 
the  Lord  Lovelace  and  thirteen  of  his  followers  were 
taken  and  are  now  in  the  Gaol  at  Cirencester. 

This  Party  designed  to  go  join  the  Prince  of  Orange 
in  the  West,  from  whence  the  Lord  Lovelace  had  been 
come  but  few  days,  and  those  with  him  are  supposed 
to  be  his  tenants  and  neighbours,  but  none  of  any  great 
note  that  I  can  yet  hear  of. 

We  are  told  from  good  hands  at  Exeter  that  Dr. 
Burnet  has  taken  possession  of  that  Cathedral,"  and 
both  preached  in  it  on  Sunday  last  before  the  Prince 
of  Orange,  and  then  openly  read  the  Prince's  Declara- 
tion ;  though  the  Prince  and  he  well  approved  of  the 
not  reading  the  King"'s  late  Declaration.  Burnet  sent 
in  the  Prince's  name  to  all  the  Clergy,  commanding 
them  also  to  read  it,  and  to  read  a  Form  of  Prayer  for 
the  Prince's  good  success,  but  they  are  said  to  have  all 
unanimously  refused,  and  rejected  the  Proposal. 

We  do  not  find  that  any  one  Gentleman  of  quality, 
substance,  or  estate  is  come  in  to  them  from  the  West, 
but  some  from  the  Eastern  parts  of  England  flock  to 

■  The  Bish())>  of  Exeter  had  llcil  to  tlourt,  as  will  be  seen  in  .inothcr  Letter. 

L  2 


148  ORtGlNAL    I.KTTF.KS. 

them  by  the  means  and  interest  of  those  Lords  and 
others  said  to  be  already  there,  as  E.  Shrewsbury,  E. 
Maxfield,  Lord  Mordent,  one  of  the  Whartons,  Lord 
Wiltshire,  and  some  Scotch  Lairds  also. 

The  Prince  has  his  Privy  Council  which  meets  every 
day,  which  consists  of  the  said  Lords  and  other  Gen- 
tlemen, as  Major  Wildman  (and  some  other  Oliverlans) 
together  with  Burnet,  Ferguson,  and  Balfour  who  is  a 
Scotch  field-preacher,  and  said  to  be  the  man  that  mur- 
dered the  Archbishop  of  St.  Andrews  about  the  year 
78  and  for  which  he  has  been  since  fled  and  protected 
by  the  States  of  Holland. 

His  Majesty  is  very  well  satisfied  with  the  zeal  and 
care  of  the  MiUtia  in  Glostershire,  who  behaved  them- 
selves so  well  upon  the  occasion  in  taking  the  Lord 
Lovelace,  and  it  is  said  his  Majesty  intends  some  par- 
ticular mark  of  favour  to  every  one  concerned  in  that 
action  which,  as  it  is  much  for  their  own  honour  and 
for  the  credit  and  reputation  of  the  Militia  of  that 
County,  so  it  is  hoped  it  may  prove  a  good  example  to 
the  Militia  of  other  Counties  to  do  their  duty  likewise. 

Some  Letters  from  the  West  say  the  Prince  of 
Orange  intends  for  Bristol,  and  thence  to  Glostershire 
and  to  Salop,  and  that  he  has  abundance  of  copper  and 
tin  Boats  to  use  upon  the  Severn ;  but  of  this,  time 
must  tell  us  the  certainty,  and  his  Majesty  has  sent 
some  thousands  of  his  army  to  dispute  their  passage 
about  Bristol. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  149 

Orders  are  given  to  stop  all  passengers  in  all  parts 

of  England  who  have  no  passes  from  a  Secretary  of 

State,  and  the  Militia  are  to  take  care  in  it,  as  well  as 

the  civil  Magistrate. 

For  John  Ellis,  Esq.  Sec.  to  the 
CJommissioners  for  the  Revenue  of 
Ireland,  at  Dublin. 


LETTER  CCCLXIX. 

The  same  to  the  same, 

[ibid.  p.  3^&.  Orig.} 


17  Nov.  88. 
Just  now  late  comes  yours  of  the  3''.  This  day  at 
two  o'clock  his  Majesty  marched  for  Windsor  with  the 
Prince  of  Wales.  They  'II  be  tomorrow  at  Bazinstoke 
or  Andover.  The  Queen  is  here  still !  This  is  a  me- 
lancholy time  with  us  all ;  what  adds  to  our  pain  is, 
that  our  Fleet  set  sail  yesterday  in  quest  'tis  thought 
of  the  Dutch  Fleet.  God  send  us  good  success.  A 
Petition  signed  by  the  Archbishops  and  several  Lords 
(about  seventeen  in  all)  was  this  noon  delivered  his 
Majesty,  praying  him  to  call  a  Free  Parliament,  and 
to  prevent  the  effusion  of  blood.  I  know  not  what 
answer  it  had. 

For  John  Ellis,  Esci-  Secretary  for 
the  Revenue  of  Ireland,  at  Dublin. 


150  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

LETTER  CCCLXX. 

The  same  to  the  same.     General  News. 
[ibid.  fol.  177.] 


London,  Nov.  17,  1688. 
Sir, 

Yesterday  his  Majesty's  Fleet  under  the  Lord 
Dartmouth  set  sail  out  of  the  Downs  towards  the  West, 
the  wind  N.  E.  a  brisk  gale,  and  it  is  confidently  re- 
ported his  Lordship'^s  orders  are  to  fight  the  Dutch. 

The  Lord  Lovelace  and  his  partizans  that  were 
taken  with  him  are  removed  from  Cirencester  Gaol  to 
Gloster  Castle  under  a  strict  guard. 

The  Prince  of  Orange  continues  to  seize  on  the 
King's  money  at  Exeter :  besides  the  ^£'300  we  formerly 
mentioned,  we  are  told  now  of  £^QQO  more  arriving 
from  the  Customs  and  Excise. 

^  ^  «  *  ^ 

This  day  was  published  a  proclamation  forbidding 
the  holding  of  Exeter  fair,  or  any  other  fair  within 
twenty  miles  of  that  place. 

Yesterday  the  Bishops  in  Town  attended  his  Ma- 
jesty, but  how  far  any  persons  have  expressed  their 
desire  of  an  accommodation,  we  know  no  farther  than 
the  common  report. 


ORIGINAL    LETTEES. 


151 


On  Thursday  last  the  Bishop  of  Exeter  kissed  the 
King's  hand  in  order  to  be  Archbishop  of  York,  and 
the  Bishop  of  Bristol  to  be  Bishop  of  Exeter. 

A  bill  was  brought  to  the  Grand  Jury  against  Cap- 
tain Lexham  for  dispersing  the  Prince  of  Orange's 
Declaration,  but  would  not  find  it,  as  is  reported,  unless 
they  had  a  sight  of  a  copy  thereof. 

One  Mr.  Purefoy  is  taken  into  custody  of  a  Messen- 
ger, and  a  Lieutenant  in  the  Lord  Dartmouth's  regi- 
ment is  brought  back. 

On  Thursday  evening  we  were  not  a  little  surprised 
that  part  of  some  regiments  had  deserted  to  the  enemy. 

His  Majesty  departed  this  day  and  lies  at  Windsor 
for  to-night,  to-morrow  at  Basingstoke,  and  will  be  at 
Salisbury  on  Monday. 

The  ten  Officers  taken  in  the  Dutch  fly  boat  were 
removed  from  the  Gate-house  to  Newgate. 

This  day  the  Queen  with  the  Prince  of  Wales  re- 
moved to  Windsor.  The  Gentleman  that  writes  the 
news  being  called  this  day  about  extraordinary  busi- 
ness, has  been  forced  to  leave  the  collection  of  the  news 
to  his  clerk. 

For  John  Ellis,  Esq.  Secretary  to 
the  Commissioners  for  the  Revenue  , 

of  Ireland  J  at  Dublin. 


152  OllIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCLXXI. 


The  same  to  the  same.     Reports  and  Information  of 
the  lyay. 

[ibid.  foi.  379.] 


London,  Novemb'.  the  20 ''.  1688. 
Sir, 

Though  it  be  commonly  and  credibly  reported  that 
our  Fleet  sailed  by  Dover  on  Friday  and  by  Ports- 
mouth on  Saturday  last,  yet  there  is  no  manner  of 
account  yet  come  upon  what  design  it  was  bent,  but 
all  conclude  it  was  with  orders  to  find  out  the  Dutch 
Fleet,  which  is  still  about  Torbay.  But  the  sharp 
East  winds  we  have  had  these  three  days  have  been 
one  reason  that  we  have  heard  of  no  action. 

His  Majesty  lay  on  Saturday  at  Windsor,  and  on 
Sunday  night  at  Andover,  and  was  expected  yesterday 
betimes  at  Salisbury. 

Here  is  a  report  as  if  Sir  Rowland  Guynne  were 
landed  with  a  Party  in  Wales,  where  he  hopes  to  find 
those  that  will  join  him  in  great  numbers,  but  some 
think  he  has  not  experience  sufficient  in  military  affairs 
as  to  make  it  very  probable. 

We  hear  the  Militia  are  every  where  strict  in  exa- 


OftTGINAL    LETTKRS.  153 

mining  such  as  pass  and  traverse  the  country,  especially 
if  the  persons  or  their  numbers  be  any  thing  suspicious. 
It  is  said  his  Majesty  hath  sent  for  the  breaking 
down  the  Bridge  of  Kersham  near  Bristol  to  prevent 
the  incursion  of  the  Rebels  into  Gloustershire. 

His  R.  H.  the  P.  of  Wales  went  from  St.  James  on 
Saturday  in  his  way  (it  is  believed)  towards  Ports- 
mouth. The  Queen  continues  still  at  Whitehall,  but 
will  follow,  as  people  say,  in  a  few  days. 

The  Dutch  Army  is  reported  to  begin  to  want 
money,  yet  the  strictness  of  discipline  keeps  the  sol- 
diers in  quiet.  The  Prince  is  said  to  have  hanged  one 
for  stealing  a  bone  of  mutton,  yet  we  do  not  hear  any 
correction  was  given  those  that  robbed  the  King"'s  Party 
of  their  horses  and  clothes. 

*  ♦  *  *  « 

The  Petition  presented  on  Saturday  by  the  Arch- 
bishops and  other  Lords,  about  nineteen,  is  printed,  the 
Prayer  of  it  is  that  his  Majesty  would  forthwith  call  a 
free  Parliament,  and  use  such  means  as  should  to  him 
seem  fit  for  preventing  the  effusion  of  Christian  blood. 
A  Report  is  very  hot  about  Town  that  the  Lord 
Delamere  is  up  in  Cheshire  at  the  head  of  a  consider- 
able body  of  Horse,  that  he  declared  himself  in  favour 
of  the  Prince  of  Orange''s  proceedings,  and  had  him- 
self read  that  Prince's  Declaration  at  the  Market  Cross ; 
those  rumours  adding  at  the  same  time  the  names  of 
sundry  Lords  and  Gentlemen  that  concur  with  that 


154  OllIGINAL    LETTEES. 

Lord  in  the  same  measures  and  that  their  general  ren- 
dezvous is  to  be  at  Derby ;  but  though  several  ex- 
presses are  dispatched  upon  this  account,  yet  as  all  this 
is  with  uncertainty  we  shall  forbear  all  particulars  till 
further  confirmation. 

For  John  Ellis,  Esq.  Secretary  to 
the  Commissioners  for  the  Revenue 
of  Ireland,  at  Dublin. 


LETTER  CCCLXXII. 

The  same  to  the  same.     Continuation  of  News. 

[ibid.  fol.  381.  Orig.] 


London,  Nov.  22,  1688. 

Sir, 

The  winds  have  continued  so  loud  and  violent  of 
late  that  we  could  not  expect  to  hear  of  any  action  be- 
tween the  Fleets,  were  they  both  never  so  well  disposed. 
Besides  we  are  told  the  Dutch  Fleet  is  dispersed  by 
the  late  storm ;  above  thirty  sail  being  driven  to  the 
Westward  towards  I^ands  End.  His  Majesty's  Fleet 
rides  by  Westwards  of  Portsmouth,  not  many  leagues 
from  Torbay. 

We  want  the  confirmation  of  the  news  that  is  spread 
about,  as  if  there  had  happened  a  rencontre  betwixt  a 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  155 

party  of  his  Majesty's  Army  and  that  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  and  that  Colonel  Kirk  and  some  others  are 
killed.  Nor  do  we  find  it  to  be  true  what  is  said  of 
Mr.  Bernard  Howard's  being  killed  in  a  duel  by  one 
of  his  own  officers,  who  had  provoked  Mr.  Howard  to 
give  him  some  unbecoming  language.  -^      ;• 

His  Majesty  is  in  good  health  at  Sarum,  and  reviews 
some  part  of  his  troops  daily,  who  are  cheerful  and 
brisk.  The  Marshal  de  Schomberg  threatened  to 
bring  most  of  them  to  their  night  caps,  without  striking 
a  stroke. 

People  please  themselves  here  with  a  conceit  as  if 
Admiral  Herbert  had  met  with  a  French  Squadron, 
and  had  at  one  dash  sunk  nine  or  ten  of  them,  which 
is  every  whit  as  true  as  that  an  army  of  50,000  French 
arc  already  landed  at  Dover. 

Though  there  never  was  more  occasion  of  inquiry 
for  busy  impertinent  people  that  gad  about  all  day 
long  for  coffee  and  news,  yet  never  was  less  certainty 
of  what  passes  in  the  world  ;  most  people  affecting  to 
disguise  the  truth,  and  there  being  at  present  about  the 
City  many  engines  that  are  made  use  of  to  spread  what 
most  suits  the  humour  of  some  party ;  yet  the  City  of 
London  was  never  more  quiet,  every  man  minding  his 
business  and  securing  their  debts,  and  the  generality 
of  the  soberer  and  the  richer  sort  have  expressed  their 
dislike  of  these  proceedings,  which  are  like  to  perpe- 
tuate and  entail  war  upon  the  nation,  by  the  removal 


156  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

of  the  Prince  of  Wales  who  is  now  at  Portsmouth,  and 
as  some  will  have  it  will  pass  into  France. 

We  have  no  farther  account  of  the  Lord  Delamer 
and  others,  in  and  about  Cheshire,  who  are  said  to 
march  out  of  that  County  to  join  others  about  Stafford- 
shire and  Nottinghamshire,  in  order  to  march  to  the 
West ;  it  is  a  long  march,  and  accidents  may  happen  in 
the  way.  We  do  not  yet  hear  of  Sir  Rowland  Gwyne. 
^  Our  foreign  advices  tell  us  the  Lord  Thomas 
Howard  was  come  away  from  Rome  carrying  with  him 
among  other  things  the  Pope's  Bull,  whereby  he  sub- 
mits all  the  diiFerences  between  him  and  France  to  his 
Majesty's  determination  and  mediation. 

The  Prince  of  Orange  has  been  at  Bridgewater, 
and  other  places  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  swept 
away  all  the  horses  in  the  County ;  haunting  all  the 
markets,  and  seizing  all  the  cattle  that  come  in,  but 
giving  some  money  for  them  ;  he  took  away  a  hundred 
in  one  market  diy  at  Tiverton,  and  borrowed  seven 
from  Sir  Creswell  Tint,  a  gentleman  of  that  neigh- 
bourhood. We  do  not  yet  hear  of  his  advancing  fur- 
ther. It  is  said  he  has  turned  out  the  Corporation  of 
Exon,  and  granted  them  a  new  Charter.  He  has  also 
settled  three  Commissioners  to  manage  the  Revenue  of 
Customs,  Excise,  and  Hearth-money,  who  are  Lord 
Wiltshire,  William  Harbord  the  late  Surveyor  Ge- 
neral, and  Monmouth's  Anthony  Rowe. 

It  is  said  He  and  his  Council  have  again  published 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  157 

another  Declaration,  which  is  not  yet  seen  in  these 
parts,  offering  to  be  confined  with  his  army  to  any 
corner  of  the  Kingdom  till  a  Free  Parliament  be  called  ; 
but  this  is  but  a  hearsay. 

For  John  Ellis,  Esq.  Secretary  to 
the  Commissioners  for  the  Revenue 
of  Ireland,  at  Dublin, 


LETTER  CCCLXXIII. 

The  same  to  the  same. 

[ibid.  fol.  385.  Orig.'\ 


London,  Nov.  23'.  1688. 
I  HAD  yours  of  the  23 '.  past,  and  thank  you  in  the 
name  of  the  Kingdom  for  the  quiet  repose  you  pro- 
mised us  this  winter ;  but  by  the  last  Easterly  wind 
you  would  find  we  are  not  to  enjoy  such  sweet  sleeps 
as  you  wish  us,  for  the  Army  27,000  strong  will  be 
able  to  offer  battle  by  Tuesday  next  on  Salisbury 
Plains,  and  our  imperial  Monarch  at  the  head  of  them, 
where  my  person  (amongst  his  faithful  subjects)  intend 
to  stick  by  him.  I  am  like  to  be  well  paid  for  my 
pains,  but  cannot  at  this  instant  tell  the  value,  but  it 
is  no  part  of  the  reason  of  my  going :  though  I  can  (to 
my  sorrow)  say  why  milk-asses  are  provided  for.  The 


158  ORIGINAL  LETTERS. 

health  is  in  a  very  ill  state,  what  with  the  fa- 


tigue of  these  preparations,  and  the  anguish  of  such  a 
sort  of  people's  going  to  the  enemy,  viz.  we  are  well 
assured  of  the  Earls  Wilshire,  Shrewsbury,  Macles- 
feild,  Lords  Lorme,  Mordent,  Mr.  Sydney,  &c.  we 
fear  E.  Dev —  Exe —  Rad —  Lord  Lovelace,  E.  Man- 
chester, Lord  Grey  Rut — ,  with  eighty  Gentlemen  and 
a  great  number  of  the  finest  horses  of  England.  Our 
intelligence  from  the  West  comes  slow  or  is  much  con- 
cealed: the  end  of  these  matters  are  dreadful,  or  at 
least  the  execution.  This  Household  went  to-day,  and 
we  think  the  King  may  before  or  on  Monday.  If  I 
should  repeat  all  the  occurrents  pass  here,  they  would 
fill  volumes ;  but  the  ordinary  people  list  themselves 
apace,  and  the  gentry  thereabouts  are  slow  in  coming 
in,  but  those  of  the  East  make  up  the  want  sufilciently. 
D.  of  Grafton  is  here  though  calumniated,  and  some 
others.  None  can  be  absent  two  days  but  undergo 
censure.  Lord  Colchester,  Thomas  Wharton,  Charles 
Godfrey,  Anthony  Roe,  &c.  are  gone  I  fear. 

For  John  Ellis,  Esq.  Secretary  of 
his  Majesty's  Revenue  in  Ireland, 
Dublin, 

Ireland. 


ORIGINAL  LETTEKS.  159 

LETTER  CCCLXXIV. 
to  John  Ellis,  Esq.     More  News. 

[ms.  donat.  4194.  foL  387.    Orig.'l 

♦^*  Tins  Letter  is  in  a  diflferent  hand  to  the  preceding  Letters ;  and 
evidently  came  from  a  different  person. 


London,  Nov.  24«'.  1688. 
Sir, 

The  Falmouth  Letters  of  the  19"*^.  instant  say,  the 
Company  of  Foot  of  the  Earl  of  Huntington's  Regi- 
ment that  was  in  Pendennis  Castle  are  marched  towards 
Plymouth,  and  a  Company  of  the  MiUtia  marched  in, 
to  which  are  to  be  added  three  Companies  more  of  the 
Militia  who  are  to  relieve  each  other. 

Last  week  a  great  Tin-work  gave  over,  by  which 
four  hundred  Tinners  are  out  of  employ,  who  it  is 
feared  will  all  march  to  the  Prince  of  Orange.  None 
yet  of  the  County  of  Cornwall  are  come  in  unto  him. 

In  the  Western  parts  reports  have  been  of  a  mas- 
sacre in  Ireland  of  six  thousand ;  but  a  Vessel  is  come 
into  Falmouth  which  came  out  of  Cork  the  last  week. 
The  master  says  that  all  was  in  peace  and  quiet,  and 
no  such  thing  feared. 


160  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

The  Prince  hath  seized  Dartmouth  Castle,  and  is 
marched  Eastwards. 

Yesterday  and  this  day  the  Officers  in  the  Tower  of 
London  have  been  employed  in  planting  mortars  upon 
the  White  Tower,  which  makes  a  noise  among  the 
women  and  children. 

On  Tuesday  morning  the  King  intended  to  rendez- 
vous his  whole  Army  on  the  Plain  next  Salisbury ; 
and  it  is  generally  believed  the  Army  was  then  drawn 
up.     But  I  have  not  seen  any  Letters  thence. 
***** 

The  Prince  hath  left  four  thousand  horse  and  foot 
in  garrison  at  Exeter,  and  made  Mr.  Seymour,  the 
late  Speaker,  governor. 

The  King's  Majesty  hath  been  a  little  indisposed, 
and  some  drops  of  blood  fell  from  his  nose,  upon  which 
His  Majesty  was  let  blood,  and  now  is  perfectly  well. 

A  council  of  war,  held  at  Salisbury,  resolved  it  was 
His  Majesty's  interest  to  return  to  London  with  the 
army,  lest  the  Prince,  in  his  march,  get  betwixt  the 
King  and  his  capital  city  :  to  which  His  Majesty  hath 
consented,  and  I  am  told  the  array  is  upon  their  march, 
and  that  the  King  (who  was  expected  this  night)  will 
be  here  on  Monday  at  the  farthest. 

A  small  party  of  foot  being  far  advanced  towards 
the  King's  forces.  Col.  Sarsefield  commanded  a  de- 
tached party  of  horse  and  dragoons,,  and  met  with 
them    at  Wincaton,    eighteen    miles  from   Salisbury, 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS.  161 

where  the  Colonel  killed  about  thirty  and  hanged  four, 
and  lost  of  his  own  party  five,  and  Col.  Webb"'s  son 
who  was  a  cornet.  But  it  is  said  young  Schomberg 
meeting  a  party  of  the  King's  horse  upon  Doncaster 
road  hath  killed  fifty-three  out  of  sixty-five  in  revenge, 
refusing  to  give  quarter,  as  is  by  report  charged  upon 
Col.  Sarsefield,  beside  the  hanging  four  which  some 
say  were  revolters. 

The  King's  fleet  are  at  Portsmouth  now.  Some 
have  suffered  much  in  the  late  storms,  and  I  am  told 
a  Fourth  Rate  is  lost. 

Just  now  comes  an  express  that  the  Earl  of  Dauby 
and  some  Lords  have  seized  York,  the  governor,  and 
Castle,  and  declared  for  the  Prince  of  Orange. 


LETTER  CCCLXXV. 

to  Mr.  Ellis.    Storms.     The  Prince 

of  Orange's  movements.     The  Rising  in  Cheshire. 
[ms.  donat.  mus.  BRIT.  4194.  fol.  391.  Orig.] 
This  is  in  the  same  hand  with  the  former  anonymous  Lettets. 


•  • 


London,  Nov.  24*''.  88. 
Sir, 

We  had  most  violent  storms  these  three  nights  past, 

which  still  began  with  the  evenings,  and  must  have 

VOL.  IV.    SER.  2.  M 


162  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

done  great  damage  to  the  Fleets,  though  we  have  not 
yet  the  particulars  of  it.  Two  or  three  of  his  Ma- 
jesty"'s  ships  are  already  put  into  Portsmouth  to  be 
refitted,  and  the  Lord  Dartmouth  got  in  time  enough 
to  avoid  the  brunt  of  the  hurricane. 

It  is  said  the  Prince  of  Orange  is  marched  with  his 
artillery  out  of  Exeter,  and  takes  his  way  towards 
Axminster,  and  intends  to  encamp  at  a  place  called 
Wincanton  (where  the  late  Skirmish  was,  mentioned 
in  the  Gazette  of  this  day),  though  some  think  his 
chief  aim  is  upon  Bristol,  and  will  make  the  best  of 
his  way  thither,  though  the  season  and  those  roads  be 
very  inconvenient  for  heavy  carriage  and  cannon. 

Most  people  had  difficulty  to  believe  that  the  Prince 
of  Orange  had  forbidden  praying  for  the  King.  But 
letters  from  good  hands  are  said  to  confirm  it,  and 
that  Burnet's  prayer  for  success  against  the  King  is 
commonly  used,  though  the  English  Clergy  have  re- 
fused it. 

We  are  told  of  several  Addresses  and  Petitions  for  a 
free  Parliament  that  are  coming  from  several  parts  of 
the  Kingdom,  but  we  are  told  the  generality  of  Eng- 
land as  well  as  this  City  do  not  intend  to  meddle  with 
the  merits  of  this  Invasion,  but  to  take  a  surer  card, 
and  so  declare  for  the  Monarchy  and  our  Laws  as  now 
established.  The  Gentry  of  Yorkshire  were  assem- 
bled for  that  purpose  on  Thursday  last,  the  result  of 
whose  deliberations  we  shall  know  ere  long. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  163 

Of  all  the  men  that  have  appeared  in  arms  and  de- 
clared for  the  Prince,  none  have  done  more  zealously 
than  those  who  began  the  dance  in  Cheshire,  who  ga- 
ther weight  like  a  snow-ball,  and,  as  many  affirm,  do 
plunder  as  they  go,  having  begun  with  the  taking  of  a 
waggon  of  arms  sent  hence  to  one  Captain  Lee*'s  com- 
pany quartered  at  Manchester.  But  we  must  suspend 
our  belief  to  what  is  nevertheless  confidently  reported, 
namely,  that  they  fall  foul  upon  their  old  friends 
and  neighbours,  (particularly  Mr.  Lewson-Gore,  whose 
house  they  are  said  to  have  entered  by  force,  and  taken 
away  all  his  arms  and  horses,  and  even  his  lady''s  coach- 
horses),  by  reason  the  nice  will  condemn  this  conduct 
as  too  outrageous  a  violation  of  the  rules  of  Knight- 
errantry.  The  chief  officers  of  this  body  are  affirmed 
to  be  old  Oliverians  that  have  long  lain  lurking  about 
Chester  and  Cheshire,  in  expectation  of  a  day  of 
plunder. 

The  Party  that  was  detached  to  break  the  Bridge 
of  Kenisham  near  Bristol  was  commanded  by  Captain 
Loyd  of  the  Earl  of  Peterborow's  Regiment,  who  in 
his  return  met  seventeen  sparks  well  mounted,  marcli- 
ing  to  the  West,  and  took  nine  of  them  prisoners,  and 
all  their  Horse.*" 

His  Majesty  continues  in  good  health  at  Sarum ; 
only  was  let  blood  once  since  his  being  there. 

Several  of  the  Duke  of  St.  Allmn's  Regiment  are 

M  2 


164  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

come  back,  though  in  a  most  plundered  condition  ; 
having  refused  the  large  pay  and  encouragement  which 
was  offered  them  ;  but  it  would  not  weigh  against  tlieir 
allegiance. 

For  John  Ellis,  Esq.  Secretary  to 
the  Commissioners  for  the  Revenue 
of  Ireland,  at  Dublin. 


LETTER  CCCLXXVI. 

The  same  to  the  same.     The  King  returns.     The 
Princess  Anne  withdraws  herself.     General  News. 

[ibid.  fol.  393.  Orig.] 


Yesterday  between  four  and  five  of  the  clock  the 
King  came  to  Whitehall,  and  looks  very  well.  We 
hear  by  some  of  his  company  that  Prince  George,  the 
Dukes  of  Grafton,  Ormond,  Lord  Churchill,  Lord 
Dumlengrick,  Sir  George  Hewitt,  Colonel  Trelawny, 
Colonel  Berkeley,  Lieutenant  General  Kirke,  Mr. 
Harry  Boyle,  Captain  Kendall,  and  very  many  others 
of  note,  are  gone  to  the  Prince  of  Orange's  Army. 
Kirke,  we  hear,  is  retaken  by  the  King's  forces,  and 
bringing  to  town ;  but  what  is  at  least  as  bad  news  as 
this,  is,  that  yesterday  morning  when  the  Princess  of 
Denmark's  women  went  to  take  her  out  of  her  bed. 


ORIGINAL    LETTEns. 


165 


they  found  she  had  withdrawn  herself,  and  hath  not 
yet  been  heard  of.  Nobody  went  in  her  company  that 
we  hear  of  besides  Lady  Churchill  and  Mrs.  Berkeley. 
Lord  Churchill's  bedchamber  place  is  given  to  Lord 
Melford,  and  his  Troop  of  Guards  to  the  Duke  of 
Berwick ;  and  it  is  said  this  morning  that  Lord  Dover 
hath  the  Government  of  Portsmouth,  and  Mr.  Skelton 
is  made  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower.  We  hear  to-day 
that  the  Duke  of  Albemarle  is  dead  at  Jamaica.  The 
King  hath  sent  to  all  the  Lords  Spiritual  and  Tem- 
poral that  are  about  the  Town  to  attend  him  this  after- 
noon at  four  of  the  clock ;  if  I  hear  any  thing  that 
passes  there,  you  shall  have  it.  I  have  told  you  many 
lamentable  Stories,  and  I  wish  you  do  not  hear  more 
from  other  people.  I  thank  you  for  your  favour  of 
the  5th  of  this  month,  and  for  the  good  Account  you 
give  me  of  yourself.  Remember  us  to  my  Brother  and 
Sister  when  you  see  them.  I  do  not  write  to-night  to 
either  of  them.  All  here  are  your  servants.  Pray  tell 
me  what  is  become  of  Dr.  Dunn.  I  hope  you  have 
heard  I  have  delivered  the  enclosed  present  you  sent 
me  for  Lord  Clarendon.     I  am  always, 

Dear  Sir, 
Yours  most  faithfully. 
27 »'.  Nov.  1688. 

We  hear  that  the  Lords  have  spoke  very  freely  to 
his  Majesty.    The  things  proposed  by  them  were,  a  free 


166  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

Parliament,  a  General  Pardon,  and  a  Treaty.  The 
King  hath  taken  a  short  time  to  consider  of  them, 
when  they  are  to  attend  him  again. 


LETTER  CCCLXXVII. 

The  Princess  Anne  to  tlie  Queen  ;  apologizes  Jbr  ab- 
senting- herself. 
[ms.  lansd.  1236.  fol.238.] 


Madam, 
I  BEG  your  pardon  if  I  am  so  deeply  affected  with 
the  surprising  News  of  the  Prince''s  being  gone  as  not 
to  be  able  to  see  you,  but  to  leave  this  Paper  to  express 
my  humble  duty  to  the  King  and  yourself;  and  to  let 
you  know  that  I  am  gone  to  absent  myself  to  avoid  the 
King's  displeasure,  which  I  am  not  able  to  bear,  either 
against  the  Prince  or  myself:  and  I  shall  stay  at  so 
great  a  distance  as  not  to  return  before  I  hear  the 
happy  news  of  a  Reconcilement :  and,  as  I  am  confident 
the  Prince  did  not  leave  the  King  with  any  other  de- 
sign than  to  use  all  possible  means  for  his  preservation, 
so  I  hope  you  will  do  me  the  justice  to  believe  that  I 
am  incapable  of  following  him  for  any  other  end.  Never 
was  any  one  in  such  an  unhappy  condition,  so  divided 
between  Duty  and  Affection  to  a  Father  and  an  Hus- 
band ;  and  therefore  I  know  not  what  I  must  do,  but 


ORIGINAL    LETTEES. 


167 


to  follow  one  to  preserve  the  other.  I  see  the  general 
falling  off  of  the  Nobility  and  Gentry,  who  avow  to  have 
no  other  end  than  to  prevail  with  the  King  to  secure 
their  Religion,  which  they  saw  so  much  in  danger  by 
the  violent  counsels  of  the  Priests,  who,  to  promote 
their  own  religion,  did  not  care  to  what  dangers  they 
exposed  the  King. 

I  am  fully  persuaded  that  the  Prince  of  Orange 
designs  the  King"'s  safety  and  preservation,  and  hope 
all  things  may  be  composed  without  more  bloodshed, 
by  the  calling  a  Parliament. 

God  grant  an  happy  end  to  these  troubles,  that  the 
King''s  reign  may  be  prosperous,  and  that  I  may  shortly 
meet  you  in  perfect  peace  and  safety ;  till  when,  let 
me  beg  of  you  to  continue  the  same  favourable  opinion 
that  you  have  hitherto  had  of 

Your  most  obedient  daughter  and  servant, 

ANNE. 


LETTER  CCCLXXVIII. 

.  .  .  .  .  to  John  Ellis f  Esq.  The  Queen 
and  Prince  gone  for  France.  The  King  follows. 
The  Prince  of  Orange  generally  declared  for. 


Decemb.  11, 1688. 
Dear  Friend, 

I  AM  now  to  tell  you  that  the  Queen  and  Prince  of 

Wales  went  down  the  River  yesterday  morning,  and 


168  ORIGINAL    LETTERS, 

'tis  believed  gone  for  France,  and  the  King  went  this 
morning  about  the  same  time ;  I  hear  hardly  any  body 
with  him.  God  preserve  him  in  health.  But  here  all 
people  are  wondering.  The  Prince  of  Orange  will  be 
in  Oxford  this  night.  The  people  in  the  city  are  search- 
ing all  Roman  Catholic  houses  for  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion :  and  this  day  they  are  about  the  Strand  and  other 
places.  The  Duke  of  Northumberland  has  put  out 
all  Papists  out  of  his  Troop  of  Guards,  and  so  they 
say  they  will  out  of  all  the  Army.  The  King's  party, 
which  I  hear  was  Colonel  Butler's  dragoons,  and  the 
Prince's,  had  a  skirmish.  'Tis  said  about  fifty  of  the 
King's  were  killed.  This  was  about  Reading,  on 
Saturday  night  or  Sunday.  I  am  told  a  Common 
Council  were  called  this  night.  The  Bishops  and 
Lords  that  are  here  sate  at  Guildhall  to-day  with  my 
Lord  Mayor,  who  is  the  best  man  in  the  King's  ab- 
sence; and  Colonel  Skelton,  who  was  Lieutenant  of 
the  Tower,  came  and  yielded  up  his  trust,  and  for 
the  present  my  Lord  Clare  and  some  other  Lords  are 
in  it. 

This  sort  of  News  concerns  every  body ;  but  I  now 
tell  you,  that  the  good  Lady  Dowager  of  Ossory  died 
this  morning  about  six  o'clock.  She  was  taken  yester- 
day morning  with  a  sort  of  an  Apoplectic  Fit,  and  had 
three  or  four  of  them  ;  and  so  that  good  Lady  is  taken 
out  of  a  World  that  is,  and  is  like  to  be  very  full  of 
trouble. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  169 

The  Prince  seems  to  say  he  Avill  settle  Ireland ;  if 
so  the  Comptroller  of  the  Ordnance  was  turned  out 
without  any  cause. 

I  pray  consult  Garret  and  my  cousin  Gourny  what 
is  fit  to  be  done ;  if  that  employment  be  in  arrear  in 
the  Treasury,  I  wish  an  item  were  given  not  to  pay. 

This  night  I  was  frightened  with  the  wonderful 
light  in  the  sky,  and  'twas  the  Rabble  had  gotten 
the  wainscot  and  seats  of  a  Popish  Chapel  in  Lincoln's 
Inn  Fields,  and  set  it  on  fire  in  the  middle  of  it. 
Until  we  knew  what  it  was  we  guessed  it  to  be  a  great 
Fire.  Here  is  a  very  great  Guard,  both  Militia  and 
the  Army.  You  will  hear  very  suddenly  all  declaring 
for  the  Prince  of  Orange,  from  whom  the  Commis- 
sioners sent  to  the  King,  before  he  went  away,  this 
Message;  that  he  came  to  settle  the  Protestant  Religion, 
and  desired  all  the  Papists  might  be  disbanded,  and  to 
call  a  Parliament,  and  that  he  would  not  come  near 
London  but  with  the  King's  leave,  and  with  what  num- 
ber of  men  the  King  should  say,  provided  he  had  not 
a  greater  to  mind  him.  But  now  'tis  believed  he  will 
be  here  very  soon.  My  Wife  and  all  in  St.  James's 
send  hearty  service  to  you.  I  hope  I  may  see  you  in 
the  Spring.     God  send  us  a  good  meeting. 


170  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCLXXIX. 


to  John  Ellis,  Esq.     The  Prince 

of  Orange  invited  to  Town.  Tumults  of  the  Mob. 
The  Army  disbanded.  The  Prince  of  Orange's  Pro- 
posals.  Lord  Chancellor  Jefferys  taken  in  disguise. 

[ibid.  p.  397.  Orig.'\ 

*^*  After  the  momentary  excesses  of  the  Mob,  the  most  striking  fact 
mentioned  in  this  Letter  is  the  capture  of  lord  Chancellor  Jefferys,  the 
very  sight  of  whom,  though  a  prisoner  and  in  disguise,  frighted  the  Lord 
Mayor.  His  committal  it  appears  was  virtually  the  act  of  the  Council 
at  Whitehall. 

A  few  years  ago,  the  Portrait  of  this  man  drew  universal  attention  at 
one  of  the  Exhibitions  of  the  British  Gallery,  where  the  benignity  which 
the  painter's  art  had  thrown  upon  the  countenance  led  many  to  suppose 
that  History  had  been  cruel  to  the  Judge.  Whether  long  acting  in  the 
distribution  of  justice  as  Recorder  of  London,  at  such  a  period,  made  his 
heart  insensible  for  later  life,  may  perhaps  admit  of  doubt.  Law  certainly 
never  wore  so  frightful  an  aspect  as  upon  his  last  Cu-cuit  in  the  West. 
Did  we  want  the  proof  of  his  severity.  King  James  has  himself  given 
it ;  »  Granger  says  he  embraced  the  Judge  upon  his  return,  and  called  his 
Circuit  "  Jefferys's  Campaign.^'' 


London,  Dec.  13*.  1688. 

Sir, 

Upon  notice  on  Tuesday  of  the  King's  being  secretly 
withdrawn,  the  Enghsh-Dutch  Officers  that  were  under 
confinement  in  the  Savoy  were  discharged,  and  are  now 
gone  to  attend  the  Prince. 


•  Life  of  James  IL  publ.  from  his  own  Memoirs,  by  Dr.  Stanier  Clarke,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  43,  44. 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS.  171 

In  our  last  we  left  the  Lords  assembled,  as  also  the 
Common  Council  for  this  City.  The  former  have 
departed,  the  Bishop  of  Ely,  the  Lords  Pembroke, 
Waymouth,  Culpepper,  &c.  to  wait  on  the  Prince; 
and  the  latter,  four  Aldermen,  and  eight  Commoners, 
to  carry  his  Highness  an  address  and  Invitation  to 
Town :  their  names  are  Sir  William  Pritchard,  Sir 
Samuel  Dashwood,  Sir  WilUam  Ashurst,  and  Sir 
Thomas  Stampe,  the  two  M^  Hublands,  M^.  Ham- 
mond, M».  Langham,  Mr.  Box,  M^.  Robinson,  Sir 
Benjamin  Newland,  and  .     A  Messenger 

being  likewise  dispatched  to  the  Lords  in  the  North, 
to  engage  them  to  approach  the  Town. 

On  Tuesday  night  there  was  an  alarm,  occasioned 
by  burning  the  Papists'  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields  Chapel ; 
they  did  the  like  to  the  Chapels  of  St.  John's  Clerken- 
well,  and  Lime-street,  but  not  easily  breaking  into  the 
latter,  cried  they  would  down  with  it,  were  it  as  strong 
as  Portsmouth.  And,  accordingly,  having  levelled 
them,  they  carried  all  the  trumpery  in  mock  procession 
and  triumph,  with  oranges  on  the  tops  of  swords  and 
staves,  with  great  lighted  candles  in  gilt  candlesticks, 
thus  victoriously  passing  of  the  Guards  that  were 
drawn  up.  And  after  having  bequeathed  these  trinkets 
to  the  flames,  they  visited  Harry  Hills'  Printing  House,=* 
which  they  served  in  like  manner.     But,  what  is  most 

»  Henry  Hills  was  Printer  to  the  King  for  his  Household  and  Chapel.  His 
Priiitinf!  House  wa<5  "  on  the  ditch  side,  in  Dlack- Fryers."  He  was  the  Printer  of 
Father  Hudlcstoii's  "  Plain  Way  to  the  Faith  and  Church." 


172 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


ungrateful,  their  execution  reaching  to  the  Spanish 
Ambassador's  House,  which  they  plundered  of  all  its 
rich  furniture,  plate,  money,  and  three  coaches,  to  the 
value  as  is  computed  of  <5£'20,000. 

All  sober  people  are  extraordinarily  concerned  at 
this  horrid  violation  of  the  Law  of  Nations,  and  the 
Lords  are  said  to  have  assured  his  Excellency  that  they 
will  study  some  means  to  make  him  satisfaction. 

Yet,  however  ill  this  has  been  resented,  and  what- 
ever precaution  could  be  used,  they  did  the  like  Yes- 
terday evening  to  the  Duke  of  Florence's  Minister's 
House  in  the  Haymarket,  Nevertheless  the  Trained 
Bands  came  up  to  disperse  them,  and  a  soldier  dis- 
charging his  musquet  at  them,  shot  his  officer  (Capt. 
Douglasse)  through  the  back.  This  performance  being 
over  they  went  to  the  Nuncio's,  who  being  flown,  the 
Landlord,  with  some  money,  compounded  with  them 
for  the  House.  The  flame  of  this  Confusion  still 
increasing,  and  the  Mobile  threatening  to  treat  the 
French  and  all  other  Ambassadors'  houses  in  like 
manner,  the  Council,  being  then  assembled,  got  a  body 
of  Horse  together,  and  ordering  them  to  fire  with  ball, 
this  gave  a  check  to  those  disorders ;  though  they  seem 
still  resolved  to  go  through-stitch. 

The  King  is  said  to  have  left  a  Paper  behind  him  di- 
rected to  the  Earl  of  Feversham,  for  him  to  disband  the 
Army,  which  his  Lordship  read  at  the  head  of  most 
Regiments,  and  accordingly  disbanded  them,  some  with, 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  173 

others  without  their  Arms,  and  it  is  dismal  to  think 
what  will  become  of  such  vast  numbers  of  poor  wretches, 
if  the  Prince's  mercy  and  the  People's  compassion  be 
not  extraordinary. 

In  the  mean  while,  the  Lords  Churchill  and  Col- 
chester, now  with  the  Prince,  have  sent  to  the  Troop 
of  Guards  to  be  in  a  body,  and  they  will  unite  thetn 
in  a  few  days. 

On  Tuesday  in  the  afternoon  returned  the  Three 
Commissioners  that  were  sent  to  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
bringing  with  them  Five  Proposals  from  his  Highness 
for  the  accommodating  the  present  Differences,  but  were 
extremely  concerned  to  find  that  the  Prince's  good  in- 
clinations and  their  good  offices  were  rendered  abortive 
by  the  King's  being  withdrawn. 

We  hear  not  yet  what  is  become  of  their  Majesties ; 
but  the  King  is  said  to  have  taken  along  with  him 
those  Writs  of  Elections  that  were  not  issued  out,  as 
also  the  Broad  and  Privy  Seals,  with  the  Crowns  and 
Scepters. 

Yesterday  the  Lord  Chancellor,  in  a  black  wig  and 
other  contrivances  to  disguise,  offered  a  Collier  fifty 
guineas  to  carry  him  to  Hamburgh  ;  the  Mate,  having 
seen  him  formerly,  suspected  who  he  was,  and  con- 
sulting with  a  merchant,  he  advised  them  to  repair  to 
the  Lord  Mayor  for  an  order  to  seize  him ;  but  not 
meeting  with  satisfaction  there,  they  repaired  to  the 
Council  at  Whitehall,  and  orders  being  accordingly 


174  OllIGINAL    LETTEUS. 

given,  he  was  taken  and  brought  amid  universal  exe- 
cration of  the  People  before  the  Lord  Mayor,  who  upon 
sight  of  the  Prisoner  fell  into  a  violent  paralytique  fit, 
so  as  to  hinder  him  from  examining  him,  and  still  con- 
tinues ill.  Nevertheless,  upon  the  directions  of  the 
Council  at  Whitehall,  the  Lord  Chancellor  was  com- 
mitted Prisoner  to  the  Tower. 

The  Bishop  of  Chester  is  said  to  have  been  seized 
near  Dover,  and  M'".  Baron  Jenner,  Burton,  and  Gra- 
ham at  the  Town  of  Fereham ;  Bishop  Ellis  is  also 
secured,  and  William  Penn  was  brought  before  the 
Lords  at  Whitehall  who  were  prevailed  upon  to  make 
6000  bail  for  him ;  and  diligent  search  is  made  after 
such  others  as  are  reputed  to  have  been  injurious  to 
the  Government. 

The  Prince  is  expected  in  town  to-morrow. 

About  two  this  morning,  an  Alarm  was  spread 
through  City  and  suburbs,  of  "  Rise,  Arme,  Arme,  the 
Irish  are  cutting  throats ;"  ^  insomuch  that  in  half  an 
hour's  time  there  was  an  appearance  of  above  an  hun- 
dred thousand  men  to  have  made  head  against  any 
enterprise  of  that  nature ;  all  the  windows  of  the  houses 
being  lighted  with  candles  from  top  to  bottom ;  but 
these  terrors  were  quickly  over,  upon  notice  that  the 
Prince  of  Orange"'s  Advance-Guard  was  near  the  Town. 

This  night  came  a  Letter  from  the  King  himself  at 

•  This  circumstance  is  particularly  noticed  by  King  James  in  the  Memoirs  of  his 
Life,  vol.  ii.  p.  25T. 


ORIGINAL    LETT^ERS.  175 

Fevershani,  directing  what  servants  he  has  in  Town  to 
be  to  him  hither  with  fresh  linen  and  clothes.  Besides 
those  that  are  stopped  at  that  place,  many  are  stopped 
at  Dover. 

The  Duke  of  Grafton  arrived  this  evening  at  White- 
hall. 

For  John  Ellis,  Esq.  Secretary  to 
the  Commissioners  for  the  Revenue 
of  Ireland,  at  Dublin. 


LETTER  CCCLXXX. 

to  John  Ellis,  Esq.     King  James 

returns  from  Feversham.  Arrival  of  the  Queen 
and  Prince  at  Ostend.  Princess  Anne'^s  entry  into 
Oocford. 

[bis.  donat.  BRIT.  Mus.  4182.  fol.  72.  Orig.\ 


London,  December  18'»i.  1688. 
Sir, 

The  King  returned  on  Saturday  from  Feversham 
to  Rochester,  and  on  Sunday  aboOt  four  in  the  After- 
noon came  through  the  City,  preceded  by  a  great  many 
Gentlemen  bare-headed,  and  followed  by  a  numerous 
Company  with  loud  huzzas.  The  King  stopped  at  the 
Queen  Dowager's  before  he  came  to  Whitehall,  and 
the  evening  concluded  with  ringing  of  bells  and  bone- 
fires. 


.176 


OllIGINAL    LETTERS. 


Those  at  Feversham  who  rifled  his  Majesty  of  his 
money,  &c.  came  with  great  contrition,  and  would 
have  restored  the  same.  But  his  Majesty  not  only 
refused  to  take  it,  but  gave  them  ten  guineas  to  drink 
his  health. 

The  King  before  his  coming  from  Feversham,  made 
the  Lord  Winchelsea  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Kent  in  the 
room  of  Lord  Teynham,  as  also  Governor  of  Dover 
Castle. 

His  Majesty  sending  the  Earl  of  Feversham  with  a 
Letter  to  the  Prince  of  Orange,  his  Highness  detained 
the  said  Earl  for  High  Treason,  declaring  he  did  it 
for  his  disbanding  the  Army  without  orders,  &c.  at 
which  his  Majesty  was  somewhat  concerned. 

We  had  a  general  discourse  that  his  Majesty  would 
constitute  the  Prince  of  Orange  Admiral  and  Gene- 
ralissimo  of  all  his  Three  Kingdoms.  In  effect  it  is 
almost  done,  for  yesterday  his  Highness  sent  his  Or- 
ders to  all  the  King's  forces  in  and  about  London  to 
march  out  to  certain  quarters,  except  only  the  Lord 
Craven's  Regiment,  and  six  Companies  of  the  King's 
Regiment  to  go  and  take  possession  of  Portsmouth, 
assigning  the  Irish  there  in  other  Quarters,  and  sub- 
sistence money. 

The  Duke  of  Grafton  has  possessed  himself  of  Til- 
bury Fort,  and  the  Irish  are  sent  away  with  passes ; 
but  Captain  Nugent  is  committed  to  Maidstone,  as 
beginning  the  late  disorder. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  177 

Sunday  last  Sir  William  Waller  came  to  town,  and 
was  publicly  at  the  Coffee  House,  Church,  and  Meet- 
ing, and  the  Lord  Colchester,  Col.  Godfrey,  and  Sir 
Thomas  Clerges,  who  went  to  the  Prince^  are  also  in 
town. 

The  Prince  has  given  the  Earl  of  Oxford  the  Duke 
of  Berwick's  Regiment  of  Horse,  which  his  Lordship 
was  formerly  Colonel  of. 

There  came  advice  yesterday  that  the  Queen  and 
Prince  of  Wales  were  safely  arrived  at  Ostend  in 
Flanders. 

Yesterday  Sir  Roger  Lestrange  was  seized  and 
brought  before  the  Court  of  Aldermen,  and  upon 
oath  made  by  one  M''.  Braddon  of  something  in  his 
writings  tending  against  the  Government,  he  was  .com- 
mitted to  Newgate. 

One  Major  Littleton  and  Captain  Adderley  quar- 
relled and  fought  a  duel  in  the  street,  and  the  former 
was  killed  in  the  rencontre. 

The  Princess  of  Denmark  made  a  splendid  entry 
into  Oxford  Saturday  last ;  Sir  John  Laneer  with  his 
Regiment  meeting  her  Royal  Highness  some  miles  out 
of  the  town.  The  Earl  of  Northampton  with  five 
hundred  Horse  led  the  van.  Her  Royal  Highness  was 
preceded  by  the  Bishop  of  London,  at  the  head  of  a 
noble  Troop  of  Gentlemen,  his  Lordship  riding  in  a 
purple  cloak,  martial  habit,  pistols  before  him,  and 
his  sword  drawn,  and  his  Cornett  had  the  Inscription 

VOL.  IV.  SER.  2.  N 


178  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

in  golden  Letters  on  his  standard  "  Nolumus  Leges 
Angliae  mutari."  »  The  rear  was  brought  up  by  some 
MiHtia  troops.  The  Mayor  and  Aldermen  in  their 
formalities  met  her  at  the  North  Gate ;  and  the  Vice 
Chancellor  with  the  Heads  of  the  University  attended 
in  their  scarlet  gowns,  made  to  her  a  Speech  in 
English,  and  the  Prince^  received  her  Royal  Highness 
at  Christ-Church  Quadrangle  with  all  possible  demon- 
strations of  love  and  affection,  and  they  will  be  to- 
morrow at  Windsor. 

Last  night  the  King  went  off  from  Court,  and  this 
day  about  three  o'clock  the  Prince  arrived  at  St. 
James's  with  great  acclamations  of  joy  and  huzzas. 

The  Gentleman  that  writeth  the  News  Letters  being 
indisposed  desires  to  be  excused  for  writing  not  this 
day. 

For  John  Ellis,  Esq.  Secretary  to 
the  Commissioners  for  the  Revenue 
of  Ireland,  at  Dublin. 

"  Granger,  in  his  account  of  Bishop  Comptonj  alludes  to  this  same  appearance  in 
arms,  but  at  Nottingham,  before  the  bishop  came  to  Oxford.  He  says,  the  following 
is  a  remarkable  instance  of  Bishop  Compton's  spirit.  "  King  James  discoursing 
with  him  on  some  tender  point,  was  so  little  pleased  with  his  answers,  that  he  told 
him, '  He  talked  more  like  a  colonel  than  a  bishop.'  To  which  he  replied, '  that 
his  Majesty  did  him  honour  in  taking  notice  of  his  having  formerly  drawn  his  sword 
in  defence  of  the  constitution ;  and  that  he  should  do  the  same  again,  if  he  lived 
to  see  it  necessary.*  Accordingly,  when  matters  were  coming  to  extremity,  he  Car- 
rie I  off  the  Princess  Anne  to  Nottingham,  and  marched  into  that  town  at  the  head 
of  a  fine  troop  of  gentlemen  and  their  attendants,  who  had  formed  a  guard  for  her 
Highness."    Biogr.  Hist,  of  Engl.  vol.  iv.  p.  283. 

b  Prince  George  of  Denmark,  as  appears  by  another  Letter. 


ORIGINAL    LEtTEftS.  179 


LETTER  CCCXXXI. 

TJie  same  to  the  same.  King  James's  Jinal  retirement 
from  Whitehall.  The  Prince  of  Orange  at  St. 
James's. 

[MS.  DONAT.  BRIT.  MUS.  1482.  fol.  76.   Orig.^ 


London,  Dec'^r.  20th.  1688. 

#  *  * 

What  we  add  to  the  King's  last  withdrawing  from 
Whitehall  is,  that  the  Marquis  Halifax,  Earl  of  Shrews- 
bury, and  the  Lord  Delamere  arrived  at  Whitehall  on 
Tuesday  about  twelve  o'clock,  and  brought  the  King 
the  message  to  retire  the  same  day,  eithA  to  Hampton 
Court,  or  somewhere  else,  signifying  that  the  Prince 
did  not  think  it  safe  for  him  to  come  to  London  so  long 
as  his  Majesty  had  such  a  confluence  of  Papists  still 
about  him,  and  that  the  Prince's  Guards  should  go 
along  with  him  to  preserve  him  from  the  insults  of  the 
mobile ;  the  King  went  accordingly  at  one  o'clock,  and 
lay  that  night  at  one  M'".  Eckinse's  house  an  Attorney 
in  Gravesend,  and  about  ten  next  morning  set  forwards 
for  Rochester.  His  Majesty's  barge  was  followed  by 
ten  or  twelve  boats  of  the  Prince's  soldiers. 

The  Prince  of  Orange  remains  at  St.  James's,  where 

n2 


180  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

no  great  business  were  done  yesterday  by  reason  of 
paying  and  receiving  Visits;  only  a  Regiment  was 
sent  to  possess  themselves  of  the  Tower ;  most  of  the 
Bishops  about  the  town  were  with  his  Highness ;  the 
Duke  of  Norfolk  came  and  paid  his  devoirs.  The 
Prince  in  the  afternoon  went  to  Whitehall,  and  from 
thence,  in  the  Queen's  barge,  to  Somerset  House  to 
compliment  the  Queen  Dowager.  In  his  return  hearing 
that  the  Prince  and  Princess  of  Denmark  were  come 
to  town,  he  called  to  see  them  at  the  Cock-pit. « 


»  The  Harleian  HolV,  V.  ti.  preserves  the  original  Accorapt  of  the  Reeeiptsi  and 
Expenses  of  King  William,  from  the  time  of  his  landing  to  his  Arrival  at  St.  James's. 

"  The  DupUcament  of  the  Accompt  of  Willm.  Harbord,  Esq.  of  the  money  by  hira 
received  and  paid  for  their  Ma''».  service  in  the  West. 
Rec*.  21*.  March,  1690-1. 
The  Duplicam'.  of  the  Accompt  of  the  Right  honorable  Will'm  Harbord,  Esq.  one  of 
their  Ma'ties  King  Willm.  and  Queen  Mary's  Privy  councell  who  was  by  the  said  King 
appointed  Comissary  gen",  from  the  tyme  of  his  landing  in  ths  West  part  of  thi» 
Kingdome  of  England,  untill  his  arrivall  at  his  pallace  of  S^  James,  Wherein  he  the 
said  Willm.  Harbord  doth  voluntarily  charge  himself  with  the  severall  Sumes  of 
mony  by  him  or  his  Deputy  George  Bride  received  and  paid  for  the  said  Kings  Ser- 
vice between  the  1  ith  day  of  November  1688  and  the  16th  tlay  of  December  following, 
of  the  Severall  persons  hereafter  named.  As  by  an  Acco'.  thereof  exhibited  by  the  said 
George  Bride  upon  his  corporall  oath  taken  before  John  Turton  Esq',  one  of  the 
Barons  of  his  said  now  Ma"^".  Excheq'.  the  17th  day  of  June  1689,  That  is  to  the  best 
of  his  knowledge  the  same  is  a  true  Accompt  of  all  the  monies  received  and  paid  by 
the  s"".  Willm.  Harbord  or  his  said  Deputy  for  the  service  of  the  said  King,  within 
the  time  aforesaid,  as  by  his  said  Accompt  thereof  will  appear.  And  his  said  now 
Ma'tie  haveing  under  his  L'res  of  Privy  Seale  beareing  date  the  8th  day  of  August  in 
the  first  year  of  his  Raigne  signifyed  his  gratious  will  and  pleasure  that  he  is  thereby 
and  of  his  ovsme  knowledge  well  satisfied  with  the  truth  of  the  said  Accompt,  and  that 
it  is  just  and  reasonable  that  the  said  Will'm  Harbord  should  have  full  and  plenary 
Allowance  and  Discharge  of  the  severall  Sumes  of  money  by  him  or  his  said  Deputy 
received  and  paid  as  aforesaid,  did  order  and  direct  that  in  his  Acco'.  thereof  to  be 
made  up  declared  and  passed  in  due  forme  and  according  to  the  Course  of  the  Ex- 
cheq'. he  should  have  allowance  and  be  thereof  discharged  as  hereafter  is  more  parti- 
cularly expressed,which  said  Accompt  was  taken  and  declared  before  the  R'.  HonoWc. 
S'.  John  Lowther  Barr«.  Richard  Hampden  esq',  chancellor  and  under  trea'r  of  the 
Excheq'.  S'.  Stephen  Fox  kn'.  and  Thomas  Pelham  Esq'.  Lords  Com'rs  of  their  Mats 
Treasury  V".  die  Junij  1690. 

That  is  to  say ; 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  181 

One  Capt.  St.  Ange,  a  French  R.  C.  was  seized  at 
Court  and  sent  prisoner  to  Newgate. 


The  SAID  AccoMPTANTS  are  herein  charged  with  the  aeveruU  Sumes  of  mony  here- 
after  specified  to  be  received  by  the  said  George  Bride  by  order  of  the  said  W.illm. 
Uatbord  Esq'.  Comisary  Gcn<i.  as  aforesaid. 

Money  issuing  out  of  the  Duty  of  Excise.  Vi^ 

i.     s.    d. 
Oi  M%  Tipping,  bein^  money  he  seized  in  the  hands  of  M'.  Coven  CoV 

lector  of  the  Excise  in  part  of  the  Countys  of  Devon  and  Somersett      70    0    0 
Of  Mr.  Ferguson,  being  money  he  seized  in  the  said  M'.  Covens  hands       304  15    3 

■Of  M'.  Anthony  Row,  being  money  received  at  Exeter  ariseing  out  of  the 

duty  of  Excise  within  tlie  Collection  of  the  said  M'.  Coven       .        .      or.    2    I 

More  of  him,  in  further  part  of  the  duty  arising  by  Excise  about  Uic  City 

of  Exeter  .       . 07    o    o 

More  of  him,  ariseing  by  the  duty  arising  by  the  Excise  of  Coffee  in  the 

said  City  of  Exeter  .       .. 531 

Mor«  received  at  the  Excise  Offloe  in  Exeter  out  of  the  said  Duty  arise- 
ing in  the  parishes  of  Hawtrey.  Kenton,  Topham,  and  Athngton     .    2&1  15    9^ 

More  received  of  the  said  M'.  Coven  Collector  of  the  Excise  in  the 

County  of  Devon 244    2    o 

Of  Sundry  persons  at  Newberry  in  the  County  of  Berks,  ariseing  out  of 

the  Excise 02  10    3 

Of  M'.  Pinkney.  out  of  the  duty  of  Excise  at  Wilton  and  other  {(laces  ad- 

ioyncing  to  Salisbury 3411 

Of  Sundry  Brewers  at  Salisbury,  viz',  of  M'.  John  Paine  brewer 
18/.  \2s.  8d.  M'.  Francis  Mercer  24/.  6s.  1 1^.  M'.  Gardner 
brewer  16/.  ft».  io\d.  M'.  James  Ely  brewer  6/.  10*.  oxd. 
M'.  Will'm  Penny  brewer  is/.  4*.  l  |d.  81  14    7| 

Of  M'.  Yorke,  servant  of  the  Lord  Walgrave,  being  Trophy  money  raised 

in  </ie  CounQ/ o/Somer«e«  remaincing  in  his  hands    ....    260    0    o 

Of  Will'm.  Trcncliard,  as  being  presented  to  his  Royallhighnes  the  Prince 

of  Orange,  his  tiovi  JAa'tic,  by  the  C'lothiets  of  Wiltshire    .        .        •    250    0    0 

Of  M'.  Score,  deputic  collector  of  the  Customs  at  Exeter,  the  sume  of       800  14    6 

Of  M'.  Waterman  the  postmaster  at  Salisbury 46  1 1    o 

Amounting  in  all  the  said  Severall  Receipts  to  the  Sumc  of       32U7    8    8^ 
whereof  the  said  Acoomptants  are  allowed  and  discharged. 


The  Discharge. 

By  mony  paid  for  grinding  of  wheat  at  Exeter,  bought  for  the  use  of  the 
Army • 


182  OllIGIMAL    LETTERS. 

The  Garrison  of  Portsmouth  quietly  submitted  to 
the  order  of  the  Prince,  and  drew  thereout,  and  the 


I.  s.  d. 
By  money  paid  to  a  Messenger  sent  into  the  Country,  to  enquire  after 

Horses 116 

By  money  paid  two  Soldiers,  to  quarter  upon  the  Bakers  who  refused  to 

bake  bread  for  the  Army 020 

By  money  paid  several!  Bakers  at  Exeter  for  bakeing  30758  loaves  of 

Bread  at  4^.  per  loafe  vi'\  were  delivered  to  the  Army  there       .       .    384    9    6 

By  money  paid  the  Butehers  for  30304'.  pd' of  Beef  at  a-i.  per  lib.  .  .  252  10  4 
By  money  paid  the  Shoemakers  for  xx.  paire  of  Shoes  at  3'.  6''.  each  paire  3  10  o 
By  money  paid  a  Messenger  carrying  out  Warrants  to  summon  the 

Officers  of  Excise 0  110 

By  money  paid  John  Blake,  John  Smith,  Robert  Horndall,  and  Anthony 

Walker  gangers  of  Excise  in  and  about  Exeter,  their  Salaries  at  1''. 

each 28    0    0 

By  money  paid  the  Dragoones  that  attended  the  Officers  of  Excise,  the 

people  refuseing  to  pay  the  said  Duty 2    0    0 

By  money  paid  for  Parchm'.  for  sundry  Comissions 0    10 

By  mony  paid  for  a  pair  of  Shoes  made  for  a  pattern  for  the  Shoomakers  0    3    6 

Paid  Mounsier  Vandermill,  major  of  the  Artillery 27  10    0 

For  carrying  a  lOO''.  in  mony  from  Exeter  to  Honiton      .       .       .       .  0    2    0 

Paid  at  Honiton  to  severall  Bakers  for  6948  loaves  of  Bread  baked  there 

for  the  Army 86  17    0 

For  bakeing  Rye  Bread  at  Exeter  made  of  the  Rye  brought  out  of  Hol- 
land  9  18    0 

Paid  the  Dragoones  who  accompanied  the  Officers  in  collecting  the  Ex- 
cise when  the  people  refused  payment,  and  for  guarding  the  money        0  15    0 

By  money  paid  S'.  Robert  Peyton  at  Crookhorne  by  his  Mat's  particular 

direccions,  to  supply  his  imertiate  wants 20    0    o 

Paid  to  Cap'.  Wingfield  at  Sherbom  by  order  of  the  Lord  Churchill  to- 
wards the  relief  of  those  troopes  which  came  to  his  Ma'tie,  particularly 
those  of  his  owne  Regiment  20    0    0 

To  the  Dragoones  for  pressing  of  waggons  and  carts  in  the  Country       .       0    4    6 

To  the  Dragoones  who  brought  M'.  York  to  Wincanton,  and  carried  the 

money  to  Henley 100 

To  Capt.  Bedford  for  subsistance  money  for  those  souldiers  of  Maior 
Generalls  Kirkes  and  Coll'  Trelawnys  Regira".  by  his  Ma'ties  direc- 
cions        200    0    0 

To  Cap'.  Pownall  for  the  subsistance  of  the  Lord  Churchills  Regim'.  400  o  o 

To  a  Messenger  at  Salisbury  who  was  sent  to  press  carts  and  waggons   .  o  3  o 

To  Samucll  Bone  one  of  the  Officers  of  Excise  at  Salisbury,  for  his  salary  3  0  0 

To  a  Messenger  sent  to  seize  a  considerable  quantity  of  Mcalc         .       .  i  o  o 


OEIGINAL    LETTERS. 


183 


Duke  of  Berwick  rendered  himself  to  the  Lord  Dart- 
mouth on  board  the  Fleet.  Col.  Talmash  is  said  to 
be  made  Governor  of  the  said  place  by  the  Prince. 

{.  «.   a. 

Paid  for  282  paire  of  Shoes  at  4'.  p'  paire  distributed  among  the  Souldiers 

at  Salisbury 66  8  0 

For  70  pair  more  at  3«.  6'^.  p'  paire 12  5  o 

Paid  there  for  9051  loaves  of  Bread  at  2*.  each           75  8  6 

Paid  to  M'.  Anthony  Smith,  being  left  unpaid  by  the  Dutch  S<rfdier8      .  i  T  o 

To  a  Messenger  sent  to  summon  in  the  Offlcers  of  Excise,  &  for  his 

horse  hire           116 

To  a  Messenger  at  Hungerford,  sent  to  press  cartes  and  waggons    .       .  o  lo    o 

For  Parchment  for  makcing  Comissions 0    I    o 

For  Hire  of  Carriages  from  Salisbury  to  Newberry  which  brought  meale  3    0    0 

For  bringing  money  ariseing  by  Excise  from  Newberry  to  Wallingford  0    2    6 

Paid  tenn  Dragooncs  two  Serg".  one  wcekes  pay  to  attend  the  pressing 

of  waggons  and  cartes  to  carry  the  money 7    0    0 

Paid  at  Newberry  for  3521  loaves  of  bread  delivered  the  Soldiers  by  direc- 

cions  of  Count  Solmes 2a    o  10 

Paid  M'.  Bradwell,  an  officer  of  the  Excise,  at  Newberry  for  his  Sallary 

upon  his  paym'.  of  the  money  he  had  received  for  that  tluty      .       .       0    6    0 

PaidatWallingfordforiiapaireofShoesbroughtthilherfromSalisbury  22    8  o 

For  two  Carts  bringing  meale  from  Salisbury  to  Wallingford  .       .       .  i    o  0 

Paid  at  Wallingford  for  releife  and  dyett  of  Prisoners  taken  at  Reading  2  lo  o 

Paid  there  for  1237  loaves  of  bread  at  2'>.  each 12  it  8 

Paid  Mr.  Pinckney  and  other  Officers  of  Excise  (allaryes,  bringing  the 

money  collected  by  them  to  Wallingford 1 1    4    o 

Paid  at  Henley  by  his  Ma'ts  order  to  Capt.  Langston  for  the  subsistancc 

of  Coll.  Langstons  Regim' 200    0    0 

Paid  for  282  Loaves  of  bread  baked  at  Henley  &  delivered  Uie  Soldiers 

there  by  order  of  Count  Solmes 2    7    6 

Paid  at  Windsor  for  bakeing  of  1400  loaves  of  Bread  of  the  Meale  taken 

at  Salisbury 2  16    0 

Paid  to  Six  Teames  and  Carriages  from  Wallingford  to  Windsor  for  the 

serviceof  the  Army  and  his  Ma'ts  Servants 3    0    0 

For  bringing  1000  loaves  of  bread  from  Wallingford  to  Windsor  by  water       i    o    o 

For  the  Hire  of  three  Teames  from  Windsor  to  London  .       .       .        i    6    o 

To  the  Dragoones  for  pressing  Teames  at  Windsor  and  guarding  the 

money  to  London o  lo    e 

In  all         1809  17     4 


184  OKIGINAL    LETTERS. 

A  Minister  in  the  City  is  made  one  of  the  Prince's 
Chaplains.  M'.  Ferguson  goes  publicly  to  the  Coffee 
Houses. 

It  is  said  an  Order  will  suddenly  be  published  to 
banish  all  Papists  ten  miles  out  of  town. 

One  of  the  Prince's  Guards  was  found  in  Long  Acre 
with  his  throat  cut  and  other  wounds  about  him,  and 
being  known  that  he  quartered  in  a  Papist's  house  near 
that  place,  the  people  are  secured  upon  it. 

The  Lord  Teynham  and  M'".  Richard  Lee  are  seized 
and  sent  to  Upnor  Castle  prisoners.  The  Earl  of  Fe- 
versham  is  put  in  Round  Tower  in  Windsor  Castle, 

For  John  Ellis,  Esq.  Secretary  to 
the  Commissioners  for  the  Revenue 
of  Ireland,  at  Dublin. 


Charges  of  passing  this  Acco'.  viz'.  I.    s.    d. 

Lastly  there  is  herein  allowed  in  pursuance  and  by  vertue  of  his  now 
Ma'ts  L'rs  of  Privy  Scale  before  mencioned  for  the  Charges  of  the 
said  Will'm  Harbord  in  passing  his  said  Accompt       .       .       .       .      60    0    o 

Sume  Totall  of  the  paymentts  &  allowances  aforesaid  1959  it    4 

And  soe  there  remaines  in  the  Aceomptants  hands  undisposed  of  at  the 

time  of  the  determinacion  of  this  Acco'.       ......    33T    6    ii 

Ex'  p'  Bro.  Bridges  Aud"*. 

Declaratur  xx".  die  Novi»'.  1689. 
Delamer. 
Declaratur  V".  die  Junij  1690. 
John  Lowtheb 
R.  Hampden 
Stk.  Fox 
T.  PeI/HAm. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  185 


LETTER  CCCLXXXII. 

The  same  to  the  same.   King  James  arrives  in  France. 

[ms.  donat.  mus.  BRIT.  4194.  fol.  403.  Ong.'\ 


London,  Dec.  29'^.  1688. 

The  24-1'.  of  last  Month  was  the  date  of  yours  with 
me ;  many  transactions  you  may  be  sure  hath  passed 
here ;  the  Prints  are  so  full  of  them  that  I  will  say  the 
less  in  this  way  :  I  wish  you  here  for  many  reasons. 

The  King  landed  on  Tuesday  morning  near  Marques '' 
and  went  post  to  Paris  on  Wednesday.  I  cannot  see 
who  your  Government  will  fall  to;  I  think  neither 
our  friend  nor  the  pert  pretender.  The  Prince  is  very 
unwilling  to  break  any  one  Regiment,  so  that  he  must 
have  further  work  ere  long  for  them :  I  know  not  what 
will  be  my  lot,  but  I  am  vain  enough  to  think  in  a 
general  bustle  I  shall  shift  for  one.  You  will  pardon 
me  that  I  say  no  more. 


KiKG  James,  on  the  12th  of  March  1689,  landed  at  Kuisale  in  Ire- 
land, at  the  head  of  five  thousand  French  Troops.  King  William,  in 
all  probability,  did  not  expect  the  attempt  to  be  made  so  soon,  or  he 
hoped  to  take  King  James  upon  his  return.  Among  tlie  Lansdownc 
Manuscripts  in  the  Museum  the  following  original  paper  is  preserved :'' 

'  He  laiuleil  ut  Amblctcusc,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morniog. 
''  MS.  Lansd.  849.  fol.  to. 


186  OIllGINAL    LETTERS. 

"  Instructions. 
WILLIAM  R. 

To  our  right  trusty  and  welbeloved  Councellor  Arthur 
Herbert  Esq^  Admiral  and  Commander  of  our  Ships  in 
the  Narrow  Seas.  Given  at  our  Court  at  Whitehall  this 
16  day  of  March,  1688-9.  In  the  First  Year  of  our  Reign. 

In  case  you  shall  take  any  Ship  or  Vessel  in  which  the  late  King 
James  shall  happen  to  be,  you  are  to  treat  him  with  Respect,  and  imme- 
diately send  us  an  Account  thereof.  But  without  expecting  any  further 
Orders  you  are  hereby  required  to  transport  him  to  some  Port  belonging 
to  the  States  General  of  the  United  Provinces,  and  give  notice  of  the 
Arrival  to  the  said  States,  and  you  are  to  dispose  of  the  said  King  James 
into  such  hands  as  the  said  States  shall  appoint  to  receive  him. 

You  are  to  leave  such  a  Number  of  Ships  in  the  Stations  appointed 
by  the  other  Instructions  as  you  shall  judge  that  service  will  require. 

W.  R. 

By  His  Ma"'^^  command, 

NOTTINGHAM." 


LETTER  CCCLXXXIII. 

Tlie  Earl  ofMelfort  to  Mr.  Innesjrom  Rome.     The 
Circulation  of  the  Gun  Money  in  Ireland. 

[mS.  LANSD.  MUS.  BRIT.  1163.  p.  164.] 

*,„*  The  portion  of  the  Letter  here  printed,  with  several  other  Letters 
which  succeed  it,  are  copied  from  the  Earl  of  Melfort's  Register  of  what 
he  wrote  to  the  Court  of  St.  Germains  during  his  negotiation  with  the 
Pope,  from  March  8th  to  Dec.  13th,  1690,  preserved  in  three  Volumes 
in  folio  among  the  Lansdowne  Manuscripts  in  the  Museum."  These 
Volumes  were  bought  at  Paris  in  1744  of  the  then  Countess  of  Blelfort, 
who  had  married  the  Earl's  grandson,  by  Mr.  Barbutt  Secretary  of  the 
Post-Office.     They  afterwards  became  the  property  of  Philip  Carteret 

>  MS.  Lansd.  Mus.  Brit.  1163. 


ORIGINAL    LETTEES.  187 

Webb,  Esq.  at  whose  decease  they  were  purchased  by  the  Marquess  of 
Lansdowne  at  that  time  Earl  of  Shelbume. 

The  Earl  of  IVJelfort  had  become  a  convert  to  Popery  early  in  the  reign 
of  James  the  Second,  to  whom  he  was  Secretary  of  State.  In  1689  he 
accompanied  that  King  to  Ireland,  where  in  the  capacity  of  sole  Secretary 
he  endeavoured  to  engross  all  power  to  himself,  and  excited  the  jealousy 
not  only  of  Lord  Tyrconnel »  the  Lord  Deputy  of  that  Kingdom,  but 
even  of  the  Count  d'Avaux  the  French  Ambassador ;  so  that  James  was 
obliged  to  remove  him  from  the  direction  of  affairs,  and,  the  Queen  fearing 
the  same  jealousy  at  St  Germains,  he  was  sent  at  once  to  n^otiate  the 
King's  business  at  Rome,  where  Louis  the  Fourteenth  is  said  to  have 
allowed  him  a  pension  to  support  his  character. 

This  notice  of  him,  which  occurs  in  the  Life  of  King  James  the 
Second  published  by  Dr.  Stanier  Clarke,''  explains  the  neglect  with  which, 
from  his  own  account,  the  Court  of  St.  Germains  treated  his  dispatches; 
not  condescending,  even  as  late  as  the  month  of  October  1G90,  to  let  him 
know  either  privately  or  officially,  the  fate  of  the  battle  of  the  Boyne. 

Some  of  these  Letters  arc  interesting,  as  displaying,  in  true  colours,  the 
conduct  of  the  Pope  toward  King  James.  In  prosperity  professing  zeal 
to  assist  him,  in  adversity  giving  pity  only.  Two  or  three  of  the  hatd 
Jlelfort's  Letters  are  impassioned. 

When  he  returned  to  St.  Germains,  the  Earl  of  Melfort  still  continued 
a  favourite  with  the  King  and  Queen,  and  again  had  the  administration 
of  affairs,  till  a  Letter  which  he  wrote  to  his  brother  the  Earl  of  Perth, 
intercepted  by  King  William,  <^  caused  Louis  the  Fourteenth  to  banish 
him  to  Angers.     He  died  in  1713. 

Mr.  Innes,  to  whom  the  following  Letter  is  addressed,  as  appears  from 

•  Lord  Tyrconnel  was  afterwards  created  Duke  by  King  James.  The  foAowing  U 
the  Earl  of  Melfort's  complaint  of  his  unkindness,  in  a  Letter  to  the  Queen  from 
Uome,  tiatcd  Sept.  aoth. 

"  Your  Majesty  is  pleased  to  bid  me  say  no  more  of  that  matter  of  the  Duke  of 
Tyrconnel,  and  I  obey  most  heartily  since  1  know  it  is  your  inclination,  which  may 
conv  ince  your  Majesty  of  the  difference  of  the  regards  he  and  I  have  to  your  service ; 
for  hatl  he  as  easily  laid  down  his  unjust  grudge  against  me,  as  I  do  now  my  just  one 
at  him,  I  had  been  in  less  trouble,  and  I  hope  the  King  would  have  been  better 
served.  I  dare  say  your  Majesty  condemns  him  in  your  heart  for  the  want  of  gene- 
rosity at  least.  If  I  had  had  him  in  Scotland,  I  and  all  my  friends  should  have  strove 
to  serve  him,  and  to  make  him  greater  than  we  found  him  ;  but,  without  a  fault,  to 
let  loose  a  pack  of  about  fifty  nephews  against  me,  besides  the  females,  and  all  the 
time  protest  all  maimer  of  friendship  and  respect  for  me,  swearing  he  could  not  tell 
what  co\ild  be  done  when  I  was  gone,  to  send  his  Dutchess  to  cry  an  hour  at  my 
lo<lgings,  and  make  me  cry  too  for  company,  and  all  this  while  harbor  malice  in  hi» 
heart  Is  horrible.  But  since  your  Majesty  commands,  for  ever  I  forgive  him  and  am 
friends  with  him,  and  will  do  what  you  will  have  me  in  that  as  in  every  thing  else." 
MS.  Lansd.  1103.  vol.  iii.  p.  110. 

>>  Vol.  ii.  p.  380. 

'  It  is  printed  in  Kcnnett's  Hist.  Eng.  I'<  ediu  vol.  iii.  pp.  703,  T93. 


188  OBIGINAL  LETTERS. 

Bishop  Rennet's  List  of  the  Court  of  St.  Germains,  was  King  James's 
Secretary  of  State  for  Scottish  Affairs. »  He  is  better  known  perhaps  as 
the  Principal  of  the  Scots  College  at  Paris. 


23^.  April,  1690. 

My  Letters  from  Ireland  say  that  the  Brass  Money 
goes  now  amongst  the  Rebels'  army  as  well  as  guineas, 
and  that  it  pays  debts  and  clears  mortgages  as  cur- 
rently as  any  other  money  ever  did ;  and  that  I  have 
but  very  few  enemies  left  there.  The  World  is  a 
game  of  hazard,  and  not  worth  a  wise  man's  pains  to 
be  anxious  for ;  do  our  duty,  and  be  careless  of  the 
Crowd. 


The  different  expedients  to  which  King  James  resorted  upon  his 
arrival  in  Ireland  to  procure  a  sufficient  supply  of  money  having  failed, 
he  attempted  to  remedy  the  scarcity  by  coining  Sixpences  of  copper  and 
brass.  These  were  first  made  current  by  proclamation  June  18th  1689 ; 
and  Ijefore  the  end  of  the  month,  in  pursuance  of  another  proclamation, 

»  King  James's  Court  at  this  time  consisted  of 

1.  The  Duke  of  Powis,  Lord  Chamberlain. 

2.  Col.  Porter,  Vice  Chamberlain. 

3.  The  Earls  of  Dunbarton  and  Abercorn,  Lords  of  the  Bedchamber. 

4.  Captains  Macdonald,  Beadles,  Stafford,  and  Trevanion,  Grooms  of  the  Bed- 
chamber. 

5.  Fergus  Graham,  Esq.  Privy  Purse. 

C.  Edw.  Sheldon,  Esq.  Sheldon,  Esq.  Sir  John  Sparrow,  Board  of  Green 

Cloth. 

7.  Mr.  Strickland,  Vice  Chamberlain  to  the  Queen. 

8.  Mr.  Brown,  brother  to  the  Lord  Viscount  Montacutc,  Secretary  of  State  far 
England. 

9.  Sir  Richard  Neagle,  Secretary  of  State  for  Ireland. 

10.  Father  Innes,  President  of  the  Scots  College,  Secretary  of  State  for  Scotland. 

11.  John  Caryll,  Esq.  Secretary  to  the  Queen. 

12.  Stafford,  Esq.  previously  Envoy  in  Spain.    . 

The  Five  lf»st  were  the  King's  Cabinet  Counsellors. 

Kcnnctt's  Hist.  Engl.  2d  edit.  vol.  iii.  p.  601,  note. 


OEIGINAL    LETTERS.  189 

pieces  somewhat  larger  were  circulated,  purporting  to  be  Shillings  and 
Half-crowns,  to  which  in  the  next  year  Crowns  of  brass  were  added.  These 
are  usually  called  Gun  Money,  probably  from  the  circumstance  of 
some  brass  cannon  having  been  delivered  to  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Mint  from  the  court  of  Dublin  Castle,  to  be  converted  into  this  money, 
which  was  also  made  from  bell-metal  and  every  description  of  what  was 
technically  called  battery. 

In  this  wretched  sort  of  money  the  popish  soldiers  received  their  sub- 
sistence, and  the  protestant  tradesmen  and  creditors  their  debts ;  James 
promising  at  a  more  favourable  time  to  exchange  it  for  silver. 

Nine  days  after  the  battle  of  the  Boyne,  King  William  ordered  these 
coins,  by  proclamation,  to  be  reduced  in  value :  the  crown,  and  the  half- 
crown  of  the  larger  size  to  go  for  a  Penny  each,  the  smaller  half-crown 
to  go  for  Three  farthings,  and  the  shilling  and  the  sixpence  for  a  Farthing 
each.  ■* 


LETTER  CCCLXXXIV. 

The  Earl  ofMelfcyrt  to  Father  Maxwell. 

[ms.  LAN9D.  MUS.  BRIT.  11G3  p.  164.] 


23''.  April,  1690. 
*  #  #  *  * 

God  be  thanked  that  the  succours  are  safely  arrived 
to  you,  and  that  his  holy  hand  appears  for  the  King. 
I  am  glad  of  the  success  of  the  Copper  Money.  God 
alone  was  the  sender  of  it,  and  nobody  has  reason  to  be 
vain  of  it.  To  his  own  name  be  the  glory  of  it,  for 
undeniably  it  has  done  good ;  but  that  it  should  go 
amongst  the  Rebels  is  a  strange  thing. 

•  Sec  Simons  on  Irish  Coins,  and  iluding's  Annals  of  the  Coinage  of  Britain. 


190  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

I  am  doing  all  I  can,  and  that  to  no  great  purpose ; 
the  hearts  here  are  harder  than  marble,  and  there  is 
not  such  a  thing  as  fellow  feeling  (the  presbyterian 
word).  No  man  knows  what  it  is  to  do  more  than 
just  to  his  own  family,  and  it  is  a  tramontano  folly  to 
give  to  any  but  for  interest,  I  mean  temporal.  I  labour 
against  all  the  oppositions  imaginable,  and  yet  gain 
ground,  and  am  in  no  ill  reputation  with  the  men  of 
the  Country  who  are  very  nice  of  esteeming  strangers : 
but  God  I  hope  will  give  success  to  the  King  here  and 
every  where  else,  and  that  he  shall  quickly  put  him  in 
possession  of  his  own. 


LETTER  CCCLXXXV. 

The  Earl  of  Melfort  to  the  Queen  of  James  IF. 
Anxiety  for  the  confirmation  of  the  News  that  the 
Battle  of  the  Boyne  had  been  gained  by  James.  His 
Advice  as  to  the  first  steps  to  be  taken  upon  English 
ground. 

[ms.  LANSD.  1163.  vol.  ii.  p.  225.] 

*,*  King  William,  the  day  before  the  battle  of  the  Boyne,  while  re- 
connoitering,  was  wounded  by  a  ball  from  a  field-piece,  which  having 
grazed  on  the  bank  of  the  river  slanted  upon  his  right  shoulder  and  tore 
the  flesh.  The  English,  seemg  some  disorder  among  those  who  attended 
him,  set  up  a  shout  through  their  camp.  The  Report  of  King  William's 
death  flew  presently  to  Dublin,  and  thence  spread  not  only  to  Paris, 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS.  191 

where  the  people  expressed  their  joy  by  bonfires  and  illuminations,  but 
through  the  whole  of  Europe.  The  Battle  was  fought  upon  July  1st, 
1690. 

During  the  action  itself.  King  James  stood  with  some  squadrons  of 
horse  on  Dunmore  Hill ;  but  Count  Lauzun  informing  him  that  he  would 
be  soon  surrounded  by  the  enemy,  he  went  off  attended  by  the  regiment 
of  Sarsiield  to  Duleck,  and  thence  to  Dublin.  He  staid  there  one  night : 
but  the  next  morning,  according  to  Kennett,  attended  by  the  Duke  of 
Berwick,  the  Duke  of  Tyrconnel,  and  the  Marquis  of  Powis,  he  went  to 
Waterford,  and  thence  to  St.  Germains.  King  James's  own  Memoirs 
say  nothing  of  these  attendants,  but  that  the  King  went  on  board  a  vessel 
at  Duncannon. 

The  Letter  now  before  the  Reader  is  instructive  to  those  who  peruse 
the  page  of  History.  It  shows  at  least  what  one  of  his  advisers  recom- 
mended  to  James  when  impressed  with  the  notion  that  Victory  was  his. 

That  James  would  have  gone  as  far  as  Lord  Melfort  in  his  changes 
seems  more  than  probable.  The  older  he  grew,  the  harder  grew  his 
heart  In  the  Latin  letter  which  he  wrote  to  the  Pope  from  Dublin, 
26th  Nov.  1689,  and  which  Lord  Melfort  himself  presented  to  the  Pope, 
James  expressly  says,  "  The  only  source  of  the  RebeUions  against  us  is 
that  we  embraced  the  Catholic  Faith,  and  we  do  not  disown  that  to 
spread  the  same  not  only  in  our  Three  Kingdoms,  hiU  over  all  the  dis- 
perted  Colonies  ofor^r  Subjects  in  America  was  our  determination."' 


12 1'.  Aug.  1690. 
May  it  please  your  Majesty, 
All  that  concern,  anxiety,  joy,  or  fear  can  bring, 
being  on  me  almost  at  once,  at  least  by  near  succeeding 
fits,  your  Majesty  cannot  blame  me  if  I  long  to  be 
freed  of  them  by  a  full  confirmation  of  the  success  in 
Ireland  and  the  death  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  that 
the  King  is  safe,  and  your  Majesty  once  again  happy 
in  seeing  and  having  so  near  a  prospect  of  Whitehall. 

»  "  Unica  turbarum  contra  nos  cxcitatarum  orifio  est,  qucxl  Catholicam  Fidcm 
atnplexi  simus,  et  eamdem  in  trla  Regna,  et  late  sparsas  per  Amerlcam  nostrorum 
sutxlitorum  Colonias  reduccre  statuisse,  nupcr  neutrum  negamus."  The  Letter  is 
printed  in  Lord  Somers's  Tracts. 


192  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

It  is  not  a  time  to  trouble  your  Majesty  with  long 
Letters,  yet  not  knowing  where  the  King's  impatience 
may  have  carried  him,  and  knowing  where  his  affairs 
require  him,  if  assisted  as  he  may  well  hope  to  be  with 
some  troops  and  the  French  fleet,  I  mean  to  England, 
least  he  be  parted  ere  this  come,  I  continue  to  inform 
your  Majesty  that  as  soon  as  the  happy  news  of  the 
Usurper's  defeat  and  death  was  brought  hither,  I  de- 
manded an  audience,  and  in  it  saw  all  the  expressions 
of  a  sincere  joy  in  his  Holiness  for  so  important,  so 
unexpected  a  success.  What  passed  I  shall  not  take 
up  your  Majesty's  time  now  to  repeat,  least  I  might 
encroach  on  more  necessary  matters;  only,  in  short, 
at  the  confirmation  of  the  News  he  has  promised  to  do 
for  the  King  all  he  can  do,  and  in  the  best  manner  he 
can,  that  is  as  to  the  owning  of  what  he  does,  and  this 
is  an  additional  cause  of  my  impatience  for  news  from 
your  Majesty. 

I  have  been  with  the  Ministers  too,  and  all  of  them 
rejoice  and  speak  fair,  and  I  am  confident  something 
more  considerable  will  be  done,  as  for  the  last  time 
they  are  to  be  at  charge  in  this  matter.  Pray  Heaven 
it  may  be  so,  for  it  is  a  hard  task  to  get  any  thing  here. 

I  need  not  put  your  Majesty  in  mind  of  the  absent. 
I  know  your  generosity  too  well  to  doubt  it.  For 
God's  sake  let  me  see  the  King  once  again,  and  then 
send  me  to  the  end  of  the  World,  and  you  shall  find 
an  obedience  correspondent  to  the  humble  duty  I  owe» 


OllIGINAL    LETTERS. 


193 


The  Duke  of  Tyrconnel  has,  as  we  are  informed, 
behaved  himself  on  this  occasion,  that,  were  he  my 
mortal  enemy,  in  duty  to  the  King  I  would  forgive 
him  and  love  him ;  and  I  must  say  that  Mr.  de  Lau- 
zun  deserves  whatever  can  be  done  for  him,  as  do  all 
others  in  that  action  proportionably  to  their  part  in  it. 

Hoping  this  will  be  soon  with  your  Majesty  I  can- 
not hinder  myself  from  saying  that  the  first  steps  in 
English  ground  are  most  dangerous,  and  that  there- 
fore great  care  is  to  be  had  how  they  are  made  as  to 
Treaty,  if  that  be  absolutely  necessary,  which  I  hope 
in  God  it  shall  not ;  but  if  it  is,  all  the  rocks  we  have 
split  upon  must  be  minded,  so  as  that  in  time  coming 
we  may  not  be  in  danger  of  the  same  fate.  These 
rocks  are  obvious.  Besides  the  Oaths  and  Penal 
Laws  against  dissenters  from  the  Church  of  England, 
there  is  the  standing  Army  of  Foreigners,  the  power 
pf  Money,  the  exorbitant  Usurpations  of  Parliaments, 
the  Trial  of  High  Treason  or  other  crimes  against  the 
Crown  by  Juries,  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act,  and  such 
like,  which,  if  not  regulated  more  advantageously  for 
the  Crown  or  quite  abolished,  I  can  see  no  comfort  the 
King  can  have  of  his  Crown,  or  safety  the  Subjects 
can  have  from  their  own  follies. 

There  is  a  great  consideration  of  forming  the  Party 
the  King  will  choose  to  govern  by,  for  by  a  Party  a 
factious  State  must  still  be  mastered ;  endeavouring  to 
use  all  equally  in  it,  being  a  certain  way  to  lose  all. 

VOL.  IV.    SER.  2.  o 


194  ORIGIXAL    LETTERS. 

And  this,  your  Majesty  may  well  remember,  was  an 
opinion  I  have  had  of  a  long  time,  and  might  have 
done  good  then,  as  experience  shows  now. 

This  Party  ought  to  be  of  men  of  tried  loyalty ; 
for  with  our  Countrymen  there  is  no  trusting  to  new 
men  nor  to  probabilities,  so  corrupt  our  blood  is  grown 
by  hereditary  rebellion  against  God  and  the  King.  Of 
this  Party  greater  care  is  yet  to  be  had  of  forming  the 
Court,  both  in  regard  to  the  King's  and  to  your  Ma^ 
jesty's  servants,  that  the  persons  composing  it  may  be 
such  as  dart  back  the  beams  of  glory  they  receive; 
that  is,  do  honour  to  your  Majesty  from  whom  they 
receive  it ;  that  they  be  of  the  best  blood,  and  pru- 
dentest,  honestest,  and  loyalest  principles ;  such  as  may 
make  others  impatient  and  ambitious  to  -come  into  the 
number ;  not  such  as  we  have  seen  in  times  past. 

Those  amongst  them  who  are  in  authority  over 
others  of  them  be  men  of  Order,  and  have  qualifica- 
tions as  well  as  quality  to  get  respect  and  to  force 
obedience,  that  things  may  look  with  that  regularity 
which  becomes  the  service  of  so  great  a  Monarch  ;  and 
it  were  to  be  wished  that  the  way  of  serving  were  put 
into  a  more  modern  dress.  Above  all  things  care 
must  be  had  that  such  as  have  been  active  in  the  King's 
service  in  his  absence  be  well  rewarded,  and  all  Ad- 
vantages taken  to  punish  such  as  have  been  the  Authors 
or  Promoters  of  this  Rebellion ;  and  if  the  King  be 
forced  to  pardon,  let  it  be  as  few  of  the  Rogues  as  he 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  195 

can,  and  with  a  watchful  eye  over  them,  remembering 
that  King  David  pardoned  Chimei  at  his  return  to 
Jerusalem,  but  took  care  that  he  should  sooner  or  later 
feel  the  smart  of  his  wickedness  the  first  failing  he 
made. 

Such  as  are  excepted,  no  pardon  should  ever  be  al- 
lowed ;  and  amongst  these  should  be  as  many  of  those 
families  where  father  and  son  both  are  engaged,  or  such 
as  have  been  hereditarily  disloyal ;  for  from  such  there 
is  no  more  loyalty  to  be  expected  than  religion  from 
the  Devils.  It  is  not  in  their  nature,  and  Rebellion 
is  like  the  sin  of  Witchcraft,  neither  can  repent. 

One  thing  has  brought  another,  and  when  I  begin 
to  consider,  all  this  is  plainly  impertinent  to  your 
Majesties,  who  understand  your  affairs  infinitely  better 
than  any  other.  But  it  is  the  nature  of  true  concern 
to  be  anxious  for  every  interest  of  the  persons  it  re- 
gards ;  and  though  I  err,  yet  it  is  well  meant,  and  I 
know  your  Majesty's  goodness  will  pardon  me,  and 
though  on  this  subject  I  have  much  more  to  add,  yet 
respectfully  I  shall  make  my  fault  no  greater  at  this 
time  and  at  this  distance. 

If  this  comes  safe  to  your  Majesty's  hands  before 
any  new  orders  be  sent  me,  it  will  be  more  than  time 
to  send  them ;  for  as  soon  as  the  confirmation  of  this 
new  Herod  the  Prince  of  Orange  his  death  shall  come, 
all  that  is  to  be  expected  from  this  will  be  immediately 
done,  and  my  longer  stay  here  will  be  needless,  and  I 

o2 


196  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

am  afraid  prejudicial  on  several  accounts,  of  which  at 
this  distance  I  dare  not  speak  nor  write  freely  as  I 
would.  I  am  extremely  sorry  to  see  from  several  Let- 
ters that  some  of  your  Majesty's  servants  of  our 
Country  at  St.  Germains  have  been  so  indiscreet  as 
to  show  their  dislike  that  the  French  should  beat  the 
English  at  sea.  Indeed  I  have  pain  to  believe  them 
so  little  concerned  in  your  Majesty's  happiness,  but  it 
is  written  to  the  Cardinal  de  Fourbin  and  to  the  Duke 
de  Chaulnes.  If  it  have  made  no  noise,  then  it  is 
well.  If  there  be  any  thing  in  it,  such  are  most  un- 
worthy, be  who  they  will,  of  the  honour  of  serving 
your  Majesty  :  but  they  name  nobody,  nor  can  I  guess 
who  the  persons  are.  . 

The  methods  to  be  taken  with  that  Court,  if  the 
King  go  into  England  as  I  hope  he  shall,  are  the  nicest 
things  I  see  in  the  whole  matter ;  but  these  your  Ma- 
jesties will  concert  yourselves,  and  adjust  so  as  that  it 
may  not  be  in  the  power  of  whispers  and  stories  to 
alienate  any  part  of  the  affection  so  necessary  for  your 
mutual  interest. 

It  is  impossible  to  imagine  the  falsehoods  spread 
abroad  by  the  Allies-Ministers  here,  who  go  through 
the  town  offering  great  wagers  that  the  French  had 
greater  losses  at  Fleury  than  the  Allies,  and  that  their 
fleet  is  totally  defeated.  But  to  us  who  are  sure  of 
the  contrary,  it  is  some  joy  to  see  the  mean  shifts  they 
are  put  to.     Would  to  God  we  were  as  sure  of  the 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  197 

Usurper''s  death,  and  of  the  Victory  in  Ireland,  of 
which  with  the  utmost  impatience  we  expect  the  con- 
firmation from  Ireland,  for  from  Versailles  it  seems  to 
come  directly  enough  hither. 

I  have  only  the  Letters  of  the  17'^  July,  so  that  I 
want  those  of  the  10-^.  of  that  month,  and  those  of  the 
24^^i.  and  that,  notwithstanding  others  have  got  Letters 
of  that  date  which  brought  the  News  of  the  total  de- 
feat in  Ireland  of  the  King'^s  forces,  and  his  flight, 
which  had  broken  my  heart  if  that  of  the  death  of 
Orange  had  not  come  before. 

Your  Majesty*'s  goodness  has  allowed  me  to  write 
so  long  Letters,  and  therefore  I  hope  you  will  pardon 
them  and  all  the  impertinencies  they  contain,  which, 
however,  are  meant  with  the  greatest  sincerity  and 
most  unalterable  concern  that  it  is  possible  for  any  man 
to  have  for  any  earthly  thing. 

May  God  Almighty  bless  your  Majesties  and  the 
Prince,  and  may  you  be  soon  happy  and  in  possession 
of  your  own,  that  God  may  be  glorified  in  the  mira- 
culous work,  and  your  faithful  servants  happy  in  the 
thoughts  that  your  Majesties  are  so.  Amongst  these 
there  is  none  more  unalterably,  more  humbly  so,  than, 
May  it  please  your  Majesty, 
Your  Majesty's  most  humble,  most  faithful, 

and  most  obedient  subject  and  servant, 

MELFORT. 

My  Lady  Melfort  presents  her  most  humble  duty 
to  your  Majesty. 


198  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCLXXXVI. 

The  Earl  of  MeTfort  to  the  Queen,  from  Rome ;  still 
in  suspense.. 

[ms.  laksd.  mus.  BRIT.  1163.  vol.  ii.  fol.  251.] 


19"'.  Aug.  1690. 
May  it  please  your  Majesty, 
Never  was  any  body  so  tossed  with  contrary  pas- 
sions as  I  have  been  since  the  time  I  heard  of  his  Ma- 
jesty's arrival  into  France,  for  then  we  had  the  fear 
that  all  was  lost  in  Ireland.  Immediately  after  we  had 
an  excess  of  joy,  to  hear  that  Orange  and  Schomberg 
were  killed,  and  their  troops  beaten  again.  The  rage 
to  be  triumphed  over  by  the  Spaniards,  who  affirm  the 
Prince  of  Orange  alive,  Ireland  his,  and  he  returned 
in  glory  to  London,  with  all  the  circumstances  of  the 
King's  defeat,  Orange's  entry  to  Dublin,  &c.  And  in 
all  this  time  we  have  not  one  scrape  of  a  pen  to  free  ua 
of  all  these  pains  we  suffer,  nor  the  hopes  of  any,  since 
I  have  none  to  that  I  sent  by  Venice,  which,  I  am  in- 
formed, was  delivered  into  your  Majesty's  hands.  But 
at  all  this  I  wonder  not.  I  well  consider  the  condition 
your  Majesty  is  in,  and  from  my  heart  I  compassionate 
all  you  have  suffered,  but  indeed  somebody  about  your 
Majesty  might  have  followed  the  way  I  shew  them, 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS.  199 

since  they  would  not  think  how  to  find  one  to  send 
safely  to  us  here  what  it  is  most  necessary  for  your 
Majesty ""s  affairs  that  we  know;  for  as  soon  as  the 
truth  of  these  things  comes,  the  Pope  will  declare  his 
last  pleasure  in  what  I  have  to  propose  to  him,  and  I 
am  hopeful  it  will  be  somewhat  more  conform  to  the 
necessity  of  the  King's  affairs  than  what  has  yet  been 
done. 

I  hope  your  Majesty  has  got  the  last  bill  of  10,000 
Roman  Crowns  I  sent,  and  will  still  believe  that  all 
that  is  possible  for  me  to  do  shall  be  done,  and  that 
since  I  am  so  unhappy  as  to  be  out  of  any  capacity  of 
assisting  the  King  at  this  time,  I  shall  pray  for  him 
that  God  Almighty  may  do  it,  and  re-establish  your 
royal  family  in  peace,  and  give  addition  to  your  hap- 
piness for  the  patience  with  which  you  have  suffered. 

I  have  nothing  to  trouble  the  King  with,  not  know- 
ing where  he  is,  and  knowing  that  your  Majesty  fully 
informs  him  of  all,  especially  of  that  zeal  with  which 
he  is  and  shall  ever  be  served  by,  may  it  please  your 
Majesty, 

Your  Majesty's  most  humble, 

most  faithful,  most  obedient  servant, 

MELFORT. 


200  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCLXXXVII. 

The  Earl  of  Melfort  to  King  James  the  Second frmi 
Rome. 

[ms.  lansd.  1163.  vol.  iii.  fol.  14.] 

5^1'.  Sept.  1690. 
May  it  please  your  Majesty, 

Your  Majesty's  Letter  of  the  30'h.  of  July  from 
St.  Germains  I  had  not  till  Wednesday  last,  being  the 
30*^.  of  August.  I  most  humbly  thank  your  Majesty 
for  your  goodness  to  me  and  mine.  My  services  are 
due  by  many  indispensable  obligations,  and  I  shall 
still  endeavour  by  zeal  to  show  the  greatness  of  that 
most  humble  affection  I  have  to  your  royal  person  and 
interest. 

So  soon  as  I  had  received  the  honour  of  your  Letter 
and  the  other  for  his  Holiness  I  demanded  audience, 
but  Thursday  being  appointed  for  singing  the  Te 
Deum  for  the  taking  of  Napoli  de  Malvoisie,  which  the 
Pope  was  to  perform  in  person  at  ^^\  Maria  Major,  I 
was  put  off  till  Friday  at  night. 

On  Friday's  night  being  admitted  to  audience  of  his 
Holiness,  I  delivered  him  your  Majesty's  Letter,  which 
he  received  most  kindly,  asking  if  your  Majesty,  the 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  201 

Queen,  and  Prince  were  well.  He  said,  *  O  how  much 
do  I  compassionate  their  condition  :"'  and  having  opened 
the  Letter,  he  gave  it  to  me  to  read  for  him,  which 
ended,  he  said  he  would  answer  it,  and  approve  of  all 
your  Majesty  had  done ;  but  that  he  saw  it  was  left 
to  me  to  enlarge  on  what  it  contained. 

I  told  him  that  the  first  thing  I  had  order  to  inform 
him  of,  was,  the  reason  why  your  Majesty  had  quitted 
Ireland,  which  was  the  united  request  of  all  the  Gene- 
ral Officers  of  your  Army,  who  wisely  considered  that 
in  your  royal  person  consisted  all  their  present  hopes ; 
and  that  though  Ireland  might  be  lost  the  sooner,  yet 
your  Majesty  would  be  more  in  a  condition  to  act  for 
the  whole,  being  in  France,  where  it  was  necessary  to 
concert  the  whole  matter ;  that  they  well  considered 
that  none  could  have  so  much  interest  with  the  Most 
Christian  King  to  procure  them  succours,  or,  by  at- 
tacking England,  draw  the  forces  which  oppressed 
them  another  way^  That  these  considerations  had 
prevailed  with  your  Majesty,  and  I  hoped  his  Holiness 
would  approve  of  what  your  Majesty  had  done. 

He  said  that  it  was  perfectly  well,  for  that  your 
Majesty  being  safe  your  re-establishment  was  certain ; 
and  that  he  approved  extremely  of  your  having  come 
away,  and  would  write  so  much  to  your  Majesty  himself. 
I  told  his  Holiness  that  now  your  Majesty  was 
come  to  France  to  demand  succours  from  that  King, 
the  next  thing  I  had  commanded  me  was  to  beg  of  his 


202  ORIGINAL    LETTEUS. 

Holiness  what  assistance  it  was  possible  for  his  Holi- 
ness to  give.  That  the  enterprize  was  great,  and  that 
though  France  should  do  all  they  could,  yet  that  all 
would  not  be  near  what  was  sufficient,  and  that  there- 
fore his  Holiness  of  necessity  must  see  this  most  just 
cause  perish,  to  the  reproach  of  all  the  Catholics  who 
did  not  assist  or  help  to  support  it.  That  there  never 
was  a  time  in  which  the  Holy  See  had  so  much  honour 
to  gain  or  lose,  and  that  the  Eyes^  of  all  Europe  was 
upon  his  Holiness  to  see  if  he  would  tamely  suffer  a 
Catholic  Kingdom  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  Heretics, 
unconcerned  to  see  so  many  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
Catholics  under  the  grievousest  persecution,  and  greatest 
temptation  to  lose  their  Religion.  Thai  by  a  timely 
and  suitable  assistance  his  Holiness  might  have  had 
the  glory  in  his  Pontificate  to  have  advanced  the  Ca- 
tholic Religion  in  England  and  Scotland,  where  it  was 
not ;  and  as  that  would  have  been  much  to  his  honour, 
I  was  assured  he  would  never  give  occasion  to  the 
contrary  by  suffering  a  Catholic  Kingdom  to  be  dis- 
membered from  the  Church  in  his  time,  without  giving 
all  the  assistance  he  could  to  such  as  were  endeavour- 
ing its  defence.  That  a  timely  supply  might  do  much, 
and  I  was  not  sure  but  12  or  15,000  stand  of  Arms 
might  have  prevented  these  mischiefs  if  sent  in  time, 
since  your  Majesty  wanted  not  Men  but  Arms  to  have 
out-numbered  your  enemies.  That  that  was  neglected, 
but  that  for  the  future  I  hoped  his  Holiness  would 


OEIGINAL    LETTERS. 


203 


turn  his  thoughts  more  intently  on  a  thing  in  which 
he  and  the  Church  of  God  were  so  much  concerned. 

His  Holiness  repeated  all  his  former  compliments  of 
what  he  would  do  and  suffer  for  your  Majesty,  but 
that  he  could  not  act  against  all  the  world,  and  he  had 
not  wherewithal  to  do  as  he  would.  That  all  the 
world  was  in  war.  That  war  was  come  into  Italy. 
That  there  was  scarcity  at  Rome.  That  the  rents  of 
the  Ecclesiastic  State  were  not  paid.  That  he  was  in 
thousands  of  straits  and  difficulties.  That  the  little  he 
had  given  was  borrowed :  he  had  in  it  given  his  Entrails, 
so  difficult  is  it  now  to  find  money. 

I  thanked  his  Holiness  for  what  he  had  done,  it 
was  a  mark  of  his  sense  of  what  he  was  obliged  to  do, 
and  at  the  same  time  one  infallible  proof  of  his  Poverty 
being  so  very  disproportioned  to  what  it  was  designed 
for,  that  I  did  not  insist  for  what  was  properly  his 
Holiness's,  but  that  some  other  fund  might  be  em- 
ployed in  so  good,  so  pious,  so  necessary  a  work.  That 
there  were  many  sums  employed  for  pious  ends  whereof 
his  Holiness  might  dispose  by  changing  the  intention  : 
and  that  there  were  many  other  ways  of  raising  money 
if  he  had  a  mind  :  and  that  the  assisting  your  Majesty 
was  a  hundred  times  a  more  pious  work  than  building 
of  Churches,  especially  where  there  are  already  too 
many :  that  by  this  speedy  assistance  he  would  not 
only  do  a  work  glorious  for  him,  but  absolutely  neces- 


204 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


sary  for  his  honour,  and  for  the  reputation  if  not  safety 
of  the  Holy  See. 

He  considered  a  little  without  saying  any  thing ;  he 
then  asked  if  Orange  was  dead.  I  told  him  it  was 
not  yet  certain;  and  he  saw  Letters  from  all  parts 
bore  contradictions,  some  say  he  was,  others  he  was 
not. 

'  It  is  doubtful,'  said  he,  '  but  however,  I  am  fixed 

*  in  myself  that  England  will  throw  off  that  Monster, 

*  and  call  back  their  own  King.     I  pray  for  it  every 

*  day,  and  would  give  my  life  to  procure  it.'  He  said 
he  had  thought  of  your  Majesty ""s  concerns  and  how  to 
help  you,  that  he  would  consider  of  it,  and  all  that  ever 
he  could  he  would  do;  that,  in  the  mean  time,  he 
would  answer  your  Majesty's  Letter. 

I  humbly  thanked  him  for  the  hopes  he  gave  me, 
that  I  should  inform  your  Majesties  of  his  good  inten- 
tions, and  begged  of  him  to  consider  how  the  season 
was  advanced,  and  how  precious  time  is  to  us.  And 
whilst  he  considered  how  to  help,  I  begged  of  him  to 
reflect  on  the  Triumph  of  the  Heresy  in  Ireland,  the 
altars  overthrown,  Churches  profaned.  Catholics  per- 
secuted, the  sacrileges  committed  on  the  persons  of 
the  rehgious,  priests,  and  bishops;  and  I  persuaded 
myself  this  view  would  quickly  determine  his  Holiness 
to  do  something  of  importance.  He  repeated  to  me 
what  he  had  said  before ;  that  he  would  think,  that  he 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  205 

would  consider,  and  do  all  that  he  could  in  the  world 
for  your  Majesty's  assistance. 

This  repetition  was  a  sign  that  he  intended  to  finish 
this  audience ;  and  so  I  shewed  my  desire  to  be  licen- 
tiated,  which  his  Holiness  perceiving,  began  to  inform 
me  of  Napoli  di  Malvoisie,  what  importance  it  was  of 
to  the  Venetians,  &c.  I  congratulated  his  Holiness  on 
that  Conquest  as  a  christian  and  a  catholic,  and  as  a 
servant  to  your  Majesty  with  whom  the  Venetians  had 
preserved  their  Alliances :  and  this  I  did  to  show  his 
Holiness  the  difference  of  the  spirit  which  actuates  us, 
and  that  of  the  House  of  Austria.  W^e  were  glad 
that  Christianity  gained,  though  from  those  that  fought 
against  our  enemies:  whilst  they  sung  the  Te  Deum 
for  the  Church's  having  lost  a  Kingdom,  and  a  Here- 
tic's Victory.  But  I  hoped  that  God,  in  his  good  time, 
would  put  a  stop  to  these  Impieties.  His  Holiness 
asked  me  if  it  was  possible  that  any  Cathedral  had 
sung  the  Te  Deum  for  Orange''s  Victory ;  I  told  him 
that  I  had  their  own  printed  News  for  it,  at  which  his 
Holiness  seemed  horribly  scandalized. 

Thus  ended  this  Audience,  by  which  your  Majesty 
will  see  how  far  the  warmth  which  appeared  at  the 
News  of  the  Usurper's  death  is  cooled  now  they  think 
he  is  alive.  And  the  truth  of  the  matter  is,  they  have 
but  little  mind  to  do  any  thing  if  they  could  hand- 
somely shun  it.  And  if  any  thing  considerable  be 
done,  it  will  be  when  your  Majesty  has  almost  certainty 


206  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

on  your  side,  for  they  would  help  up  the  last  steps, 
and  care  not  for  being  at  the  expenses  till  they  can 
say  this  helped  immediately  to  set  him  on  his  Throne. 

At  a  distance  it  is  impossible  to  judge,  and  I  have 
that  to  say  I  dare  not  commit  to  cypher;  but,  in 
general,  there  is  no  hope  of  any  thing  considerable 
till  your  Majesty  be  just  going  for  England,  which  I 
assert  boldly  you  are ;  but  the  French  posts  coming 
only  once  in  fifteen  days,  they  always  wait  for  con- 
firmations, and  so  I  am  delayed. 

We  are  now  in  more  uncertainty  than  ever,  not 
knowing  if  Orange  be  dead  or  living,  where  the  French 
fleet  is,  nor  what  may  be  their  design  ;  nor  are  we  less 
ignorant  of  what  is  doing  in  England  and  Scotland, 
whether  any  of  their  designs  so  much  talked  of  be 
like  to  take  effect,  or  if  those  inclinations  believed  to 
be  in  the  people  still  continue.  So  that,  as  to  that 
point,  we  are  just  as  miserable  as  it  is  possible  for  us 
to  be:  God  Almighty  send  us  the  comfort  of  some 
good  news  for  your  Majesty,  and  then  we,  like  sea- 
sick travellers,  soon  forget  our  pains. 

I  wish  it  were  possible  to  get  the  remains  of  your 
Majesty's  army,  or  a  considerable  part  of  them,  brought 
from  Ireland  to  England,  so  long  as  the  French  are 
masters  of  the  Sea,  and  might  hinder  the  rebel  army 
from  returning  to  England :  for  I  am  confident  never 
nothing  will  turn  the  tide  in  England,  but  carrying 
the  war  thither.     The  fear  of  having  a  war  within  the 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  207 

Kingdom  having  infallibly  been  what  made  the  de- 
fection of  the  people  so  universal  as  it  was :  but  I  hope 
all  this  comes  too  late,  and  therefore  I  shall  not  insist 
on  it. 

As  for  myself,  I  entirely  depend  upon  your  Majesty 
to  be  employed  as  you  shall  think  best  for  your  royal 
service,  as  I  have  ever  done,  and  having  laid  before 
your  Majesty  my  humble  thoughts  I  am  secured  on 
the  side  of  conscience,  and  I  know  your  Majesty's  ge- 
nerosity, and  if  I  may  add  justice,  will  have  care  of 
my  reputation.  Which,  with  all  else  I  am  master  of, 
shall  ever  be  employed  to  prove  that  I  am,  more  than 
I  can  tell. 

May  it  please  your  Majesty, 
Your  Majesty''s  most  humble,  most  faithful, 
and  most  obedient  servant, 

MELFOUT. 


LETTER  CCCLXXXVIII. 

The  Earl  of  Melfbrt  to  Mr.  Innes :  introduces  an 
Irish  priest  of  the  name  of  Richard  Molony. 

[ms.  lansd.  1163.  vol.  iii.  p.  49.] 

•»•  In  a  Letter  to  the  Queen  of  the  11th  Nov.  Lord  Melfort  calls  this 
person  "  Bishop  Molony."  He  had  written  a  Letter  to  Lord  Melfort 
in  which  "  the  story  of  Ireland  was  set  down." 


208  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

IS^K  Sept.  1690. 
Sir, 

The  Bearer  hereof  Richard  Molony  is  an  Irish 

Priest  who  has  passed  his  studies  at  Rome,  and  returns 

now  to  the  mission  in  Ireland.     He  is  desirous  to  kiss 

the  King  and  Queen ""s  hands :  so  he  being  a  very  honest 

man,  I  intreat  you  to  procure  him  that  satisfaction  or 

any  other  service  that  hes  in  your  way,  and  what  you 

do  for  him  I  will  look  upon  as  a  favour  done  to 

Sir, 

Your  most  humble  servant, 

MELFORT. 

A  pass  was  given  with  this  Letter  to  the  aforesaid 
Molony,  and  another  to  James,  who  went  along  with 
him.  There  was  a  pass  likewise  given  the  same  day 
to  three  English  Gentlemen  that  went  to  Naples. 


In  a  Letter  to  the  King  of  the  28th  Oct.  Lord  Melfort  details  the 
particulars  of  another  Interview  with  the  Pope : 

"  Yesterday  was  the  soonest  that  I  could  deliver  your  Majesty's  Letters 
to  his  Holiness,  who  received  them  with  all  the  demonstrations  of  real 
affection  it  is  possible  to  express.  He  cried  so  that  I  had  extreme  com- 
passion to  see  him ;  he  told  me  that  his  heart  shed  tears  of  blood  to  think 
of  your  condition,  and  that  night  and  day  he  thought  how  to  assist  you ; 
that  there  was  nothing  in  his  power  he  would  not  do ;  that  his  condition 
was  to  be  lamented;  he  saw  Europe  in  distress,  the  Church  in  danger, 
your  Majesty  in  want,  Italy  threatened,  himself  not  secure,  and  the 
Emperor  in  circumstances  with  him  as  not  to  permit  him  to  be  useful 
for  remedying  of  the  ills ;  that  he  had  made  propositions  of  peace ;  that 
the  Most  Christian  King  had  answered  favourably,  that  Spain  had  an- 
swered that  it  was  not  now  the  time  to  think  of  peace,  that  the  Emperor 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  209 

had  not  answered  and  so  he  found  would  not  hear  of  peace ;  that  all  of 
them  asked  assistance  who  had  war  with  the  Turks,  who  were  coming  a 
second  time  into  Hungary,  and  he  knew  not  to  what  hand  to  turn  him." 

The  Audience  being  ended  Lord  Melfort  went  to  the  Cardinal  Rubini, 
after  the  conference  with  whom  he  says,  "  I  found  out  two  objections, 
that  the  Turks'  afTairs  pressed  harder  than  the  danger  of  the  heretics ; 
the  second  that  what  they  could  give  the  Emperor  might  signify,  but 
what  they  can  give  your  Majesty  will  not  signify  to  the  training  of  your 
Majesty's  Kingdoms." 

Lord  Melfort's  anxiety  to  return  was  now  great;  after  giving  his 
reasons  for  demanding  it  of  the  King,  he  adds,  "  Indeed  there  is  another 
thing  I  thought  not  to  have  ever  mentioned,  and  that  is  my  allowance, 
of  which  I  have  seen  nothing  in  six  months ;  for  three  of  which  I  drew 
bills,  but  since  that  time  I  have  neither  credit  nor  money,  nor  will  any 
advance  me  one  farthing ;  and  all  this  befalls  me  after  I  was  informed 
the  matter  was  adjusted.  Hitherto  I  have  had  difficulties,  but  now  I  will 
swear  I  know  not  well  what  course  to  take."  MS.  Lansd.  1163.  vol.  iiu 
pp.  108,  169. 


LETTER  CCCLXXXIX. 
Mr.  TheopMlus  Harrison  to  the  Rev.  John  Strype. 

[ms.  cole,  mus.  BRIT.  vol.  Ui.  p.  39?.] 


Dublin,  Aug.  23,  1690. 
Dear  Sir, 
After  some  few  days'  stay  at  Liverpool  for  a  wind, 
blessed  be  God,  I  had  a  good  and  quick  passage.  M'. 
Bonnell  tells  me  he  acquainted  you  with  the  transactions 
of  King  James's  Government  here,  and  how  severely 
the  poor  Protestants  were  handled:  their  Churches, 

VOL.  IV.    SER,  2.  P 


210  OKIGINAL    LETTF.RS. 

contrary  to  the  royal  word,  seized  and  prophaned  by 
idolatrous  worship.  The  calamities  under  which  they 
groaned  were  so  great,  that  they  cannot  be  conceived 
by  any  but  those  who  were  actual  suiferers,  or  who 
beheld  the  cruel  executioners  perform  their  barbarous 
parts.  All  men  are  convinced  that  they  ought  to  re- 
turn solemn  thanks  to  Heaven  for  sending  a  Conqueror 
who  gives  new  life  to  their  drooping  spirits,  and  cheer- 
fully submit  to  that  Providence  which  has  eased  them 
from  a  burden  under  which  it  was  impossible  for  them, 
in  human  probability,  to  have  much  longer  subsisted ; 
they  themselves,  as  well  as  their  substance,  being 
almost  consumed,  and  without  miracles  must  necessa- 
rily next  winter  be  famished.  A  Jacobite  is  a  monster 
here,  and  passive  obedience  an  absurdity.  The  usage 
of  Protestants  here,  they  say,  was  sufficient  to  convince 
the  most  fierce  Jacobite,  had  he  been  in  the  same  un- 
happy circumstances. 

As  to  the  present  posture  of  affairs.  Limerick  is 
closely  besieged,  the  out-works  taken,  and  all  the  men 
in  them  put  to  the  sword,  though  they  cried  for  quarter. 
The  occasion  of  this  severity  was  Sarsfield's  cruelty, 
who  two  days  before  surprised  our  guns,  within  seven 
miles  of  the  Camp,  and  killed  all  the  waggoners  to- 
gether with  their  wives  and  innocent  babes :  so  that 
when  the  Irish  cried  quarter,  answer  was  made  they 
should  have  the  same  quarter  the  waggoners  had. 
The  guns  were  re-taken,  and  though  damaged,  in  good 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  211 

order  again.  It  is  reported,  that  Limerick  hasofFeretl 
to  parley. 

It  is  certain  Tyrconnel  and  Berwick  have  left  Lime- 
rick :  so  have  the  French,  who  are  marched  towards 
Galway,  being  a  more  convenient  harbour  for  their  re- 
turn homeward :  but  the  Garrison  of  Galway  has  denied 
them  admittance :  so  that  they  lie  encamped  between 
Limerick  and  Galway.  It  is  said,  that  His  Majesty 
has  promised  the  soldiers  the  plunder  of  Limerick, 
which  is  thought  to  be  very  considerable,  which  ani- 
mates the  Army  to  a  very  great  degree. 

You  heard,  I  suppose,  that  Douglas's  men  were 
drawn  off  from  Athlone,  at  which  several  that  ran 
away,  at  the  rout  of  the  Boyne,  rallied,  and  made  a 
body  of  about  3000  in  the  County  of  Westmeath,  in 
which  part  of  Athlone  stands.  They  plundered  all 
Protestants;  burnt  their  houses,  and  forced  them  to 
fly  to  these  parts  for  shelter :  upon  which  Col.  Wose- 
ley,  with  his  Enniskilling  men,  who  are  really  very 
formidable,  was  sent  into  the  Country.  About  sixty 
of  his  men,  not  staying  for  the  rest,  set  upon  five  hun- 
dred, killed  about  fifty,  and  took  several  prisoners, 
with  the  loss  of  three  men  only.  They  are  now  en- 
camped at  MuUingar,  the  County  Town,  and  so  keep 
the  Country  in  some  order. 

I  preached  last  Sunday  in  my  own  Church,  where 
I  found  about  thirty  of  my  scattered  flock  ;  my  Church 
miserably  defaced ;  the  seats  were  employed  to  wains- 

p  2 


212  ORIGINAL    LKTTEllS. 

cot  a  room  for  the  Priest;  but  no  Priest  appeared, 
nor  any  of  the  considerable  Popish  inhabitants.  Some 
with  King  James"'s  army,  some  abscond,  and  Pro- 
testants not  yet  returned  to  their  houses,  which  were 
all  possessed  by  the  Irish :  so  that  the  Country  looks 
somewhat  desolate.  My  pulpit  cushion  was  dragooned ; 
the  velvet  made  into  a  pair  of  breeches ;  but  chalice, 
&c.  preserved. 

There  is  no  want  of  com  in  the  Country,  nor  of 
other  provisions,  but  how  it  will  be  in  winter  God 
knows;  for  most  are  willing  to  part  with  what  pro- 
visions they  have  at  an  easy  rate,  for  fear  of  the  Army 
on  the  one  hand,  and  of  the  fugitive  Irish,  or  Rapperies, 
who  steal  in  the  night  on  the  other. 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  leave  a  faithful  servant 
behind  me,  who  had  lived  with  me  above  eleven  years : 
his  friends  are  all  Papists :  he  an  Irishman,  but  bred  up 
in  the  Protestant  Religion,  to  which  and  his  Master, 
he  had  been  stedfast.  Notwithstanding  very  strict 
search,  he  has  preserved  most  of  my  goods :  he  was 
forced  to  sacrifice  some  few  things,  to  save  the  rest : 
bedsteads  and  chairs  were  my  greatest  loss.  I  found 
surplice  and  hood,  and  two  good  gowns  and  cassocks, 
as  I  left  them.  I  did  not  know  when  I  landed  whe- 
ther this  servant  was  alive ;  but  next  day  he  came  to 
me,  and  brought  me  two  horses,  which,  in  the  rout,  he 
took  from  men  that  owed  me  old  debts,  and  picked  up 
£5  in  money,  least  I  should  want  at  my  landing :  he 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  213 

settled  my  tithes  also  before  I  came  as  well  as  he  could  : 
but  what  was  set  for  ,^£'300  formerly,  scarce  amounts 
to  .£150  now.  But  blessed  be  God  it  is  as  it  is.  As 
to  my  Deanry  lying  near  Athlone,  I  must  exj)ect  no 
profit  from  thence  this  year. 

And  now  I  beg  you  to  present  my  service  to  all  my 
good  friends  in  Low  Lay  ton,  particularly  the  good  fa- 
mily at  Ruckholts.  My  thanks  to  M"".  Houblon  for 
his  Letter,  as  much  as  if  I  had  occasion  to  make  use 
of  it ;  for  his  correspondent  was  ready  to  do  me  any 
kindness.  I  will  not  forget  my  promise  to  M''.  Hill, 
&c.     I  am  sincerely,  dear  Sir, 

Your  affectionate  Brother,  and  humble  servant, 

THEO.  HARRISON. 

I  am  informed  it  was  not  Sarsfield  that  took  the 
carriages ;  but  whoever  it  was,  he  burnt  them,  and 
threw  the  women  and  children  alive  into  the  fire ;  one 
of  the  waggons  excepted,  in  which  was  the  Treasure 
to  pay  the  Army,  but  that  was  re-taken. 

To  M'.  Strype,  to  be  left  at  M'. 
John  Hill's,  Stationer  in  Change 
Alley,  opposite  the  Royal  Exchange. 


214  ORIGINAL  LETTEKS. 


LETTER  CCCXC. 

King  William  the  Third  to     * 

His  discontent  with  the  Parliament.     Changes  pro- 
posed  Jbr  Ireland. 

fcMS.  DONAT.  4748.  fol.  15.  Orig.l 

*,♦  The  Donation  Manuscript  in  the  Museum,  N".  4748,  contains 
Nine  original  Letters  of  King  William  the  Third,  between  Oct  18th, 
1697,  and  Aug.  15th,  1700,  entirely  in  his  Majesty's  hand-writing. 
They  have  no  address,  but  seem  to  have  been  written  to  Baron  Ginkle, 
afterwards  Earl  of  Athlone. 

The  Letter  here  given  is  one  of  them ;  and  is  presented  as  a  specimen 
of  King  "William's  French  style.  In  the  opening  of  it  the  King  appears 
to  allude  to  the  Resolution  of  the  House  of  Commons  April  9th,  1700, 
"  that  an  Address  be  made  to  his  Majesty  that  no  person  who  was  not 
a  native  of  his  Dominions,  except  the  Prince  of  Denmark,  be  admitted  to 
his  Majesty's  Councils  in  England  or  Ireland"  to  prevent  the  presenting 
of  which,  the  King  went  to  the  Hous^  on  the  1  Jth  of  Ap^l  ^^d  pro- 
rogued the  Parliament  to  the  23d  of  May. 


A  Hampton-court  ce  ii*'.  de  May  1700. 
Il  y  a  bien  long  temps  que  je  ne  vous  ay  point 
escrit,  la  raison  est  qu'estant  tousjours  incertain  de 
Tissue  de  la  derniere  Session  du  Parlement;  je  n'ay 
voulu  vous  repondre  a  auqu'une  de  vos  Lettres,  vous 
pouves  juge  le  chagrin  que  m'a  cause  toutte  leur  Pro- 
cedures extraordinaires,  et  je  vous  asseure  que  ce  n'a 
pas  este  une  des  moindres  de  vous  voir  prive  de  ce  que 
je  vous  avois  donne  avec  tant  de  plaisir.     J'espere 


OKIGINAL    LETTERS.  215 

pourtant  que  je  ne  seres  pas  hors  d'estat  de  recognois- 
tre  les  bons  services  que  vous  m^aves  randu,  et  j''en 
chercheres^  les  occasions  avec  empressement  surquoy 
vous  pouves  faire  fons,  c  vous  doit  estre  bien  de  la 
satisfaction  dans  le  juste  resentiment  que  vous  deves 
avoir  de  ce  qui  vous  regarde  que  personne  n'a  peu 
trouver  a  redire  a  vostre  conduite,  au  contraire  tous 
en  ont  paru  satisfait,  et  le  Vote  qui  a  passe  le  dernier 
jour  en  furie  ne  vous  regarde  qu*"  indirectement,  et  je 
vous  puis  asseure,  que  vous  n'en  aves  este  auqu'une- 
ment  Toccasion,  il  y  a  eu  tant  d'intrigues  dans  cette 
demiere  Session  que  sans  avoir  este  sur  les  Lieus,  et 
bien  instruit  de  tout  Ton  n'y  peut  rien  comprandre.  II 
me  sera  impossible  de  continuer  la  Commission  de 
L**.  Justices  en  Irlande  comme  elle  est  presentement, 
ainsi  j'ay  resolu  d*y  envoier  le  Due  de  Shrewsburi 
comme  Vice  Roy,  et  que  vous  commandies  TArmee 
sous  luy.  Ne  croies  pas  que  cela  vous  sera  une  d&. 
gradation,  personne  ne  le  comprandra  icy  comme  cela, 
et  je  scai  que  tout  le  monde  le  souhaite,  et  le  croient 
absolument  necessaire  pour  mon  service.  J'en  suis 
entierement  convaincu,  ainsi  J'espere  que  vous  ne  vou- 
deres  pas  me  refuse  d'accepter  ce  commandement,  n'y 
ne  pas  abandonner  mon  service.  Je  vous  assure  que 
je  n'en  ay  jamais  eu  plus  de  besoin  qu'a  present,  des 
gens  de  vostre  capacite  et  fidelite.  J'espere  que  je 
trouveres  des  occasions  a  vous  donner  des  marques  de 
mon  estime  et  amitie,  et  je  ne  vouderes  pas  vous  engage 


216  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

en  cecy  si  je  n'estois  asseure  qu'auqu'un  mal  ne  poura 
vous  en  arriver,  mais  je  scai  que  cela  aura  une  aproba- 
tion  generale,  et  je  ne  doute  pas  que  vos  amis  ne  vous 
en  informeront  de  mesme,  et  je  suis  bien  aise  de  vous 
dire  que  vous  en  aves  beaucoup  et  parmi  toutes  partis. 

WILLIAM    R. 


The  Reader  is,  no  doubt,  aware  that  the  preceding  Letter  affords 
no  solitary  instance  of  King  William's  discontent  with  his  Parliament. 
There  is  a  stronger  one,  however,  preserved,  which  the  Editor  cannot 
persuade  himself  to  leave  unchronicled  here. 

In  the  month  of  December  1698,  when  the  Commons  were  so  irritated 
at  the  King's  presuming  to  maintain  a  greater  number  of  Troops  than 
their  predecessors  had  voted,  such  was  his  Majesty's  indignation  that  he 
threatened  to  abandon  the  Government.  The  Speech  "which  he  penned 
and  intended  to  have  delivered  upon  that  occasion,  is  still  remaining 
in  the  King's  own  hand  among  the  Manuscripts  in  the  British 
Museum.     We  are  not  told  by  whom  he  was  influenced  to  withhold  it. 

The  Countess  of  Suffolk,  lady  of  the  bedchamber  to  Queen  Caroline, 
told  the  late  Dr.  Morton  that  She  communicated  this  original  Draft  to 
the  Queen,  who  chose  to  keep  it,  returning  her  only  a  Copy.  After  the 
Queen's  death  it  came  into  the  possession  of  the  Princess  Amelia,  who 
gave  it  to  Lord  Berkeley  of  Stratton  for  the  Museum. 

"  M'.  a  Ge. 

"  Je  suis  venu  icy  dans  ce  Royaume  au  desir  de  cette  Nation  pour  la 
sauver  de  ruine,  et  pour  preserver  vostre  Religion  vostre  Lois  et  Libertes, 
et  pour  ce  subjet  j'ay  este  oblige  de  soutenir  une  longue  et  tres  onereuse 
geurre  pour  ce  Royaume,  laquelle  par  la  grace  de  Dieu  et  la  bravoure 
de  cette  Nation  est  a  present  terminee  par  une  bonne  Paix ;  dans  laquelle 
vous  pouries  vivre  heureusement,  et  en  repos,  si  vous  voulies  contribuer  a 
vostre  pro  pre  seurete,  ainsi  que  je  vous  I'avois  recommande  a  I'ouverture 
de  cette  Session ;  mais  voyent  au  contraire,  que  vous  aves  si  peu  de  guard 
a  mes  ad  vis,  et  que  vous  ne  prenez  auquun  si  peu  »  de  soin  de  vostre  seu- 
rete, et  vous  exposes  a  une  ruine  evidente,  vous  destituant  des  sules  et 
uniques  moiens  que  pouroit  servir  des  moiens  necessaire  pour  *>  vostre 
defense.     II  ne  seroit  pas  juste  ou  raisonable  que  je  fusse  temoin  [de] 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  217 

vostre  perte,  ne  pouvant  rien  faire  de  mon  coste,  pour  I'eviter  [sans  vous 
pouvoir  defendre  et  proteger]"  ce  que  a  este  la  seule  veu  que  j'ai  eu  en 
venant  en  ce  Paiis ;  ainsi  je  dois  vous  requerir  de  choisir  et  me  nommer 
telles  personnes,  que  vous  jugeres  capable  auquels  je  puisse  laisse  [I'ad- 
ininistration  du]  ^  gouvemement  en  mon  absence,  vous  asseurant  que 
quoyque  je  suis  oblige"  a  present  de  7)i€  retlrer  HORS  DU  ROVAUME. 
Je  concerveres  toujours  la  mesmes  inclination  pour  son  adventage  et  pros- 
perite ;  et  que  quandt  je  poures  juger  que  ma  presence  y  seroit  necessaire 
pour  vostre  defense,  et  que  je  jugeres  le  pouvoir  entrcprendre  aux  succes, 
vous  vous  me  feres  en  cstat  que  je  seres  dont  porte  a  y  revenir  et  hasarde 
ma  vie  pour  vostre  seurete,  comme  je  I'ay  fait  par  le  passe :  priant  le  bon 
Dieu  de  benir  vos  deliberations,  et  de  vous  inspirer  ce  que  est  necessaire 
pour  le  bien  et  la  seurete  du  Royaume." 

The  words  placed  in  the  lower  part  of  this  and  the  preceding  page 
with  letters  of  reference,  are  King  William's  marginal  Alterations. 


LETTER  CCCXCI. 


Charles  Lyttelton  to  his  Jatlier  Sir  Charles  Lyttelton 
upon  the  conduct  of  Louis  the  XlVth.  after  the  death 
of  King  James  the  Second, 

[fBOM  the  Orig.  IX  THE  LIBRAHT  OF  THE  SOCIETY  OF  AVTIQUA- 
BIES.] 

*^  The  countenance  given  by  Louis  the  Fourteenth  to  the  son  of 
James  the  Second,  both  before  and  after  his  father's  death,  was  the  cause 
not  only  of  sarcasm,  but  of  the  circulation  of  scandalous  anecdote.  "  TJie 
Great  Bastard  Protector  of  the  Little  One'^  was  the  title  of  an  English 
Tract,  affected  to  have  been  printed  at  Cologne  in  1689,  and  reprinted  in 
1701,  near  the  time  of  the  Interview  mentioned  in  the  present  Letter. 
The  English  thought  they  could  not  better  requite  a  sympathy  which  did 
Louis  the  Fourteenth  more  honor  than  his  greatest  Victories. 

The  question  of  the  legitimacy  of  the  birth  of  King  James's  son  Is 
now  laid  at  rest.     King  William  himself  did  not  venture  to  go  into  it. 

•  Estant  hors  d'estat  de  vous  defendre  et  proteger.  *>  adminUtre  le. 

•  forc6. 


218  OKIGINAL    LETTERS. 

King  James  in  his  Memoirs, »  says,  that  Count  Bentinck  "  being  asked 
why  his  Master  made  not  appear  the  illegitimacy  of  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
as  he  had  promised  ?  he  answered,  that  they  neither  questioned  his  legi- 
timacy, nor  were  concerned  about  it,  for  that  his  Master  being  now  in 
possession  of  the  Throne,  was  resolved  to  keep  it  while  he  lived,  and 
cared  not  who  it  went  to  when  he  was  gone." 


Paris,  Sept.  27'^.  1701,  N.  S. 

We  received  yesterday  my  dear  Father's  of  the  6*''. 
instant,  and  are  glad  to  find  you  are  all  pretty  well  at 
Hagley,  and  no  occasion  to  try  the  Bath  waters,  where 
I  hear  there  is  a  mighty  swarm  of  people. 

#  #  #  #  # 

I  should  be  glad  to  stay  at  Paris  as  long  as  you 
think  fit,  both  to  mend  my  French  and  my  Dancing, 
which  I  think  I  can  do  better  here  than  in  another 
place,  as  also  to  see  a  little  more  of  the  French  world. 

I  should  be  extremely  glad  to  see  Flanders  and 
Holland  before  I  come  home;  not  but  that  I  long 
mightily  to  see  my  dear  friends  at  Hagley,  but  because 
I  believe  we  may  go  now  without  any  trouble  as  to  the 
war.  There  be  no  likelihood  of  any,  this  season  being 
so  far  advanced,  but  it  is  thought  the  next  spring  there 
will  be  some  bustle  in  Flanders,  some  people  not  being 
plpased  with  the  King  of  France's  owning  our  young 
King,  and  treating  him  with  all  the  respect  and  kind- 
ness imaginable.  The  moment  King  James  was  dead, 
the  Prince  of  Conti  went  and  complimented  the  Prince 
as  King,  as  did  all  the  rest  of  the  Court  at  St.  Ger- 

•  Vol.  ii.  p.  312. 


ORIGINAL    LETTEE6.  219 

maiqs.  On  the  20*^.  the  King  of  France  went  to  St. 
Germains,  after  it  had  been  hotly  disputed  in  the 
Council  whether  he  should  or  no :  all  the  Princes  of 
the  blood  were  hotly  for  it,  but  some  of  the  politicians 
were  against  it :  but  it  was  carried  by  a  great  majority 
of  voices.  When  the  King  of  France  came  to  St. 
Germains,  the  King  met  him  at  the  top  of  the  stairs, 
and  after  they  had  embraced  one  another  gave  him  the 
right  hand,  and  conducted  him  into  the  room  where 
the  Queen  »  laid  upon  the  bed  to  receive  him.  After 
the  ceremonies  finished  the  King  conducted  him  back 
to  the  top  of  the  stairs,  always  giving  him  the  right 
hand. 

The  next  day  the  young  King  went  to  Versailles 
to  return  the  King  of  France"'s  visit,  who  treated  him 
with  the  same  ceremony  and  respect  that  he  was  used 
to  treat  his  father,  but  with  a  great  deal  more  ten- 
derness, as  considering  he  is  very  young.  When  he 
met  him  atop  of  the  stairs,  he  took  him  in  his  arms 
and  embraced  him  with  as  much  kindness  and  tender- 
ness as  if  he  had  been  his  own  son.  He  conducted 
him  into  a  room  where  there  were  two  armed-chairs 
for  the  two  Kings :  the  King  of  France  always  gave 
him  the  right  hand:  when  the  visit  was  ended,  the 
King  of  France  conducted  him  back  to  the  top  of  the 
stairs.  They  have  given  him  the  same  guards  that  the 
late  King  had. 

•  Mary  of  Estc.    kd. 


220  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

The  late  King  desired  the  young  one  in  his  Will 
that  he  would  continue  all  his  Servants  as  they  were, 
and  take  care  of  all  his  faithful  subjects  that  had  suf- 
fered with  him,  especially  the  Protestants,  and  that 
whenever  it  should  please  God  to  restore  him  to  his 
Throne,  he  advised  him  to  govern  his  people  without 
any  regard  to  their  being  Papists  or  Protestants,  and 
that  he  should  by  no  means  endeavour  to  alter  the 
Religion  established,  but  to  govern  according  to  the 
laws  and  customs  of  his  country,  without  which  he  was 
sure  no  King  of  England  could  ever  be  happy,  but 
withall  charged  him  to  be  a  true  Son  of  the  Church, 
and  not  to  change  upon  any  account  whatsoever,  quoting 
some  Scripture  sayings,  as  "  what  signified  it  to  gain 
the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  Soul,"  and  some  more 
to  the  same  purpose. 

He  declared  some  new  Honours.  My  Lord  Perth 
is  made  Duke :  Lord  Middelton,  Earl  of  Monmouth : 
Mr.  Carrol,  Lord  Carrol. 

The  King's  body  is  here  at  the  EngHsh  Benedictines 
in  deposit,  there  to  be  kept,  as  they  say,  till  they  can 
have  an  opportunity  to  send  him  to  Westminster  to  be 
buried.  The  Queen  is  at  a  Convent  called  Shalio, 
within  a  league  of  Paris. 

*  *  *  1^  If 

I  beg  your  and  mother's  blessing. 

I  am  your  dutiful  and  obedient  son 

C.    LYXTELTON. 


LETTERS 


THE  REIGN  OF 


QUEEN    ANNE. 


Although  the  Letters  of  the  Reign  of  Anne  which  the  Editor  has 
here  produced  are  far  from  numerous,  some  amongst  them  will  be  found 
which  have  intrinsic  interest  Two  from  the  Duke  of  Queensberry  to 
the  Queen  at  the  opening  of  the  Scotch  Plot,  Dr.  D'Avenant's  Letter 
to  his  Son  after  the  News  of  the  Victory  of  Blenheim  had  arrived  in 
London,  Lord  Sunderland's  three  Letters,  and  the  Correspondence  with 
the  Elector  of  Hanover,  have  strong  claims  upon  the  Reader's  notice. 
The  last  consists  of  a  few  Specimens  only  out  of  a  large  Collection. 

To  the  Eye  of  Posterity,  the  Reign  of  Anne  wiU  ever  appear  to  be  one 
of  the  most  prosperous  in  the  English  Annals :  as  successful  in  Arts  as 
in  Arms.  But  to  those  who  lived  under  it  there  were  inconveniences. 
The  Nation  had  been  oppressed  for  the  greater  part  of  a  century  by  suc- 
cessive struggles,  and  though  it  had  settled  the  contested  limits  between 
the  King  and  People,  the  Court  and  the  Country  were  yet  torn  by 
jealousy  and  faction.  A  claimant  to  the  Crown,  out  of  the  Succession 
which  the  Law  had  settled,  stood  as  a  rallying  point  for  all  who  were 
discontented.  The  dissensions  of  her  Ministers  impaired  the  health  of 
Anne,  who  may,  without  figure,  be  said  to  have  sunk  under  her  anxieties. 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS.  223 


LETTER  CCCXCII. 

Sir  George  Rooke  to  Prince  George  of  Denmark  : 
after  the  taking  of  the  Vigo  Galleons  by  the  English 
Fleet  Oct.  12th,  1702. 

[from    the     Orig.    FORMERLY    IN     THE     POS8ES3IOK     OF     T.     B. 
RICHARDS,    ESQ.] 

*,*  The  following  is  the  character  of  Prince  George  of  Denmark 
given  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Secret  Services  of  John  Macky,  Esq. 

"  His  Royal  Highness  Prince  George  of  Denmark,  husband  to  the 
Queen  and  Lord  High  Admiral  of  England,  is  brother  to  the  late  King 
of  Denmark  and  uncle  to  the  present  He  was  chosen  by  King  Charles 
the  Second  to  be  husband  to  his  niece  the  Princess  Anne,  because  having 
no  dominions  of  his  own  to  gratify,  he  would  have  nothing  else  in  view 
but  the  interest  of  England. 

"  In  the  reign  of  King  Charles  the  Second,  having  little  English  and 
being  naturally  modest,  he  made  no  considerable  figure,  nor  in  the  reign 
of  King  James,  tUl  the  increase  of  Popery  alarming  the  whole  Nation, 
he  concurred  with  the  rest  of  the  Protestant  Nobility  for  the  bringing 
over  the  Prince  of  Orange,  and,  with  his  Princess,  left  the  Court  to  join 
that  party. 

"  During  all  King  "William's  reign  he  never  went  into  the  Admini. 
stration,  yet  came  always  to  Parliament  regularly,  and  often  to  Court, 
diverted  himself  with  hunting ;  and  never  openly  declared  himself  of  any 
party. 

"  On  the  Queen's  accession  to  the  Throne  he  was  made  Lord  High 
Admiral  of  England  and  Warden  of  the  Cinque  Ports. 

"  He  is  a  Prince  of  a  familiar  easy  disposition  with  a  good  sound  un> 
derstanding,  but  modest  in  shewing  it :  a  great  lover  of  the  Church  of 
England  the  nearer  it  comes  to  Lutheranism  :  this  he  often  shows  by 
his  vote  in  the  House  of  Peers,  otherwise  he  does  not  much  meddle  with 
affairs  out  of  his  office. 

"  He  is  very  fat,  loves  news,  his  bottle,  and  the  Queen,  by  whom  he 
has  had  many  diildren,  but  none  alive.  He  has  neither  many  friends 
nor  enemies  in  England.  On  the  Queen's  accession  to  the  Throne  he 
was  towards  fifty  years  old." 


224  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

At  a  later  period,  as  will  hereafter  be  seen,  Prince  George  of  Den- 
mark had  enemies.  The  character  of  him  here  quoted  is  from  the  Har- 
leian  MS.  6760 :  not  from  the  printed  edition  of  Macky's  Memoirs. 


Royal  Sovereign  at  Vigo,  Oct.  16th,  170^. 
Sir, 
I  think  myself  very  happy  in  this  opportunity  of 
congratulating  the  Queen  and  your  Royal  Highness 
on  the  first  action  of  her  Majesty's  Reign  and  your 
Administration  in  your  Office  of  Lord  High  Admiral 
of  England,  which  I  hope  will  prove  as  glorious  to 
her  Majesty,  and  as  advantageous  to  her  Country  and 
subjects  as  any  thing  that  has  been  performed  in  the 
time  of  her's  and  your  Royal  Highness"  predecessors. 
The  action  will  tell  its  own  story  throughout  the  world, 
and  therefore  I  shall  not  illustrate  upon  it.  The  in- 
closed Copy  of  my  Letter  to  Sir  Charles  Hedges  is  as 
particular,  as  just,  and  as  modest  a  relation  as  becomes 
me  to  give,  who  had  the  honour  to  be  at  the  head  of 
the  service.  I  shall  add  no  more  to  my  most  humble 
duty  to  her  Majesty  and  your  Royal  Highness,  but 
my  prayers  that  God  Almighty  may  preserve  you  long 
together  and  bless  you  with  success  in  all  your  under- 
takings, which  concludes  me  her  Majesty's  most  duti- 
ful and  loyal  subject,  and,  royal  Sir, 

Your  Highness"*  most  obedient,  most 

humble,  and  truly  devoted  servant, 
G.  roob:e. 

His  Royal  Highness  the  Prince. 


OUTfilNAL    LETTERS.  225 


LETTER  CCCXCIII. 

Lord  Tarbat  to  Queen  Anne.     He  tenders  his  Re- 
signation  as  Secretary  Jbr  Scotland. 

[from    the    Orig.    IN    THE    POSSESSION    OF    THE    LORD   VISCOUNT 
STRANOFORD.] 


May  it  please  your  Majesty, 

The  matter  of  fact  in  what  is  past,  since  my  last,  I 
have  put  in  my  Lord  Treasurer's  hand ;  I  dare  not 
write  my  private  judgment  on  what  is  passed  as  law; 
and  there  being  an  act  passed  last  day,  declaring  it 
High  Treason  to  quarrel,  impugn,  or  endeavour  to 
alter  or  innovate  the  claim  of  right,  or  any  article 
thereof,  I  will  not  adventure  to  give  judgment  on  it, 
now  your  Majesty's  authority  is  recognised  in  the  first 
act,  and  touched  by  the  Royal  Scepter,  and  so  is  law. 
The  last  is  passed  in  Parliament  but  not  as  yet  touched, 
nor  the  other  act  ratifying  Presbyterial  Government, 
but  wait  your  Majesty's  Commissioner  to  give  them 
the  touch.  I  have  sent  several  other  acts  to  my  Lord 
Treasurer,  offered,  but  not  yet  voted.  We  are  (and  I 
believe  truly)  informed  that  there  are  several  such  acts 
to  come  in. 

It  was  the  greatest  honour  that  ever  I  did  attain,  to 
be  chosen  by  your  Majesty  to  be  one  of  your  Sec  re- 

VOL.  IV.    SER.  2.  (1 


226  OEIGINAL    LETTERS. 

taries.  It  was  an  extraordinary  satisfaction  and  hap- 
piness for  me  to  wait  on  your  Majesty's  person,  I 
ever  accounted  it  my  greatest  duty  to  serve  your  Ma- 
jesty, as  I  did  your  royal  predecessors,  with  untainted 
fidelity  and  loyalty ;  and,  as  I  wish,  so  I  hope  to  die 
in  that  course,  whatever  be  my  station. 

But  with  all  possible  fidelity  and  duty,  be  pleased 
graciously  to  allow  me  to  represent  to  your  Majesty  that 
I  am  unfit  on  many  accounts  to  serve  your  Majesty  in 
this  capacity  of  a  Secretary,  or  in  any  public  station.  It 
were  unpardonable  indiscretion  to  trouble  your  Majesty 
with  the  particular  reasons  which  bring  me  to  this  mis- 
fortune, since  the  circumstances  wherein  affairs  are  put, 
renders  my  service  not  only  useless  but  perhaps  hurt- 
ful to  your  Majesty.  I  assure  your  Majesty  with  all 
sincerity  before  God,  that  I  am  not  relinquishing  so 
honourable  a  post  on  any  cause  or  occasion  from  what 
relates  to  your  Majesty  (allowing  my  unfitness  to  be 
one)  nor  does  my  age  or  infirmities,  or  any  private 
motive  make  me  thus  to  withdraw.  This  I  do,  un- 
known to  any  ;  nor  will  I  divulge  it  until  I  have  your 
Majesty's  allowance,  and  then  I  beg  and  hope  for  your 
Royal  protection  and  continuance  of  your  gracious 
favour  in  the  capacity  of  your  private  subject ;  though 
my  age  and  some  other  obstructing  impediments  lie 
heavy  on  me,  yet  your  Majesty's  command  shall  bring 
me  to  give  an  account  of  this  action,  and  of  some  other 
things  to  your  Majesty  if  it  be  judged  worth  the  while. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  227 

This  with  no  great  joy,  but  with  a  faithful  heart,  is 
with  all  humble  duty  humbly  offered  by 
Your  Majesty's 

Most  humble,  most  faithful, 
most  obedient  subject  and 
servant, 

TAEBAT. 

8th.  May,  1703. 


LETTER  CCCXCIV. 


The  Duke  of' Queensberri/  to  Queen  Anne,  upon  the 
debating"  of  the  Act  of  Security/  in  the  Parliament 
of  Scotland. 

[from   the    Orig.    IN   THE   POSSESSION   OF    THE   LORD   VISCOUNT 
STRAN6F0RD.] 


May  it  please  your  Majesty, 
We  were  in  hopes  of  finishing  the  tedious  Act  of 
Security,  having  added  the  clause  that  the  successor 
should  be  a  Protestant  and  of  the  Royal  line,  when  we 
found  several  additions  brought  in  to  confound  the 
Act ;  one  was  calculated  to  catch  the  Bigots,  that  the 
Successor  should  be  of  the  Kirk  of  Scotland  as  by  law 
established  ;  this  was  thrown  out  by  a  great  plurality  : 
there  was  another  clause  offered  on  Friday  by  my 
Lord  Roxborough,  that  whoever  was  King  or  Queen 

q2 


228  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

of  England  should  never  be  King  or  Queen  of  Scotland, 
except  upon  such  a  multitude  of  limitations  as  rendered 
the  matter  impracticable,  and  these  limitations  to  be 
enacted  this  very  Session  of  Parliament.  It  was 
carried  by  a  few  to  enter  into  the  consideration  of  this 
clause. 

Here  I  must  regret  to  your  Majesty  that  my  Lord 
Privy  Seal'-  entered  into  both  these  clauses,  though  they 
are  pretty  opposite  in  themselves :  and  it  is  too  plain 
that  he  generally  joins  in  any  motion  that  is  brought 
in  to  break  up  this  Parliament,  without  its  coming  to 
do  those  things  which  are  necessary  for  your  Majesty ""s 
service  or  securing  the  peace  of  the  Kingdom.  He 
seldom  votes  with  your  Majesty ""s  other  servants ;  and 
when  that  happens,  he  never  brings  any  body  along 
with  him,  so  that  either  he  really  has  not  the  influence 
he  pretended,  or  is  not  sincere  in  employing  it  for  your 
service,  and  yet  when  he  goes  contrary  to  us,  having 
the  second  vote  and  being  an  officer  of  state,  he  either 
takes  off  others,  or  gives  them  a  pretence  to  divide 
from  us. 

Your  Majesty  may  remember  that  from  the  first 
meeting  of  your  Parliament,  I  represented  to  your 
Majesty  that  the  division  among  your  servants  was 
the  greatest  difficulty  that  I  foresaw  in  your  business, 
and  if  you  are  pleased  to  observe  the  accounts  that 
your  Majesty  has  received  from  time  to  time  of  the 

*  The  Marquess  of  Alhiil 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS^.  229 

proceedings  of  your  Parliament,  you  wil[  find  that 
your  servants  succeeded  in  every  thing  wherein  they 
were  unanimous ;  and  I  am  sure  that  if  they  will  yet 
concur,  and  act  a  sincere  and  vigorous  part,  that  we 
are  very  well  able  to  bring  this  Parliament  to  a  happy 
conclusion ;  but  if  it  should  break  up  in  ill  humour  it 
would  bring  a  suit  of  mischiefs  and  great  animosities 
betwixt  the  two  nations ;  and  it  is  strange  that  some 
do  concur  in  the  humour  of  speaking  against  the  in- 
fluence that  English  Ministers  are  thought  to  have  in 
Scots  affairs,  when  at  the  same  time  they  do  value 
themselves  and  are  considered  by  others  as  having  a 
great  share  in  your  Majesty's  favour  by  the  means  of 
these  same  Ministers  against  whom  they  encourage  the 
clamour.  I  am  bold  to  say,  that  if  your  Majesty  will 
either  make  your  servants  of  a  piece,  or  let  it  be  un- 
derstood that  whoever  will  differ  and  divide  from  the 
rest  shall  be  under  your  Majesty's  displeasure,  that  we 
shall  yet  be  able  to  bring  matters  to  a  right  settlement. 
For  my  own  part  I  am  ready  and  resolved  to  ven- 
ture my  life  and  fortune  in  your  Majesty's  service 
against  all  that  shall  presume  to  oppose  you,  and  as  I 
have  used  your  Majesty"'s  authority  with  faithfulness, 
so  I  have  avoided  all  height  and  ostentation  in  the  ho- 
nour I  have  to  represent  your  sacred  person ;  yet  there 
was  a  great  noise  made  on  Friday  because  I  adjourned 
the  House  at  eight  o'clock  at  night,  after  most  part  of 
the  members  were  gone  out  or  wearied,  so  that  many 
had  intreated  I  might  adjourn  that  meeting,  the  matter 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

being  of  the  last  consequence,  and  not  ripe  for  any 
vote.  There  is  a  memorial  of  this  matter  sent  to  Mr. 
Nairne  to  be  laid  before  your  Majesty,  with  the  opinion 
of  your  servants,  that  it  is  your  Majesty's  undoubted 
prerogative  to  adjourn,  which  is  done  by  your  Com- 
missioner every  day,  and  that  I  have  not  exceeded  the 
ordinary  course,  nor  transgressed  any  law,  and  that 
there  is  no  occasion  for  any  clamour,  but  only  a  fixed 
resolution  to  break  up  this  Parliament,  in  which  too 
many  concur ;  but  that  being  a  matter  of  so  ill  conse- 
quence, it  shall  be  struggled  against  with  all  the  pa- 
tience and  appUcation  in  the  power  of, 
Madam, 
Your  Majesty's  most  dutyful, 

most  humble,  and  most  obedient 
subject  and  servant, 

QUEEKSBERRY. 

Holyrood-House, 
July  the  18 1'.  1703. 


LETTER  CCCXCV. 


TlieDuke  ofQueensberry  to  Queen  Anne;  again  upon 
the  Act  of  Security.  A  Plot  to  overturn  the  Govern- 
ment discovered. 

[from  the  Or%'.  draft  indorsed  in  the  duke's  HAND-WRITINe, 

"  Copy  of  my  Letter  to  the  Q»  August  ll"-.  1703."J 

*^*  This  and  the  succeeding  Letter  from  the  Duke  of  Queensberry  to 
Queen  Anne,  occasioned  no  slight  commotion  in  England.     The  Reader 


OUIGINAL    LETTERS.  231 

who  would  acquaint  himself  with  the  general  particulars  of  the  Plot  which 
the  Duke  discovered  to  the  Queen,  may  consult  Bishop  Burnet's  History 
of  his  own  Time,"  Boyer's  Life  of  Queen  Anne,  *>  SmoUet's  History," 
and  the  Journals  of  the  House  of  Lords ;  •'  where  as  much  as  was  suffered 
to  be  known  of  its  detection  may  be  found. 

The  gentleman  of  "  quality  and  integrity"  mentioned  by  the  Duke  of 
Queensberry,  by  whom  the  Secret  was  disclosed,  was  Simon  Fraser  Lord 
Lovat,  a  man  of  desperate  enterprize  and  abandoned  morals,  who,  it  is 
but  right  to  say,  had  been  outlawed  for  having  ravished  the  Marquess  of 
AthoPs  sister,  and  who  at  last  expiated  this  and  all  his  crimes  upon  the 
scaffold  in  I747. 

That  there  were  two  sides  to  the  Story  is  certain.  Ferguson,  an  expe- 
rienced plotter,  who  had  been  known  in  the  Duke  of  Monmouth's  rebel- 
lion, asserted  that  the  only  secret  design  which  existed  at  this  time  among 
the  Jacobites  was  to  make  the  Queen  receive  such  terms  as  Henry  the 
Second  had  agreed  upon  with  Stephen,  to  reign  during  her  life,  and  then 
to  be  succeeded  by  her  brother.  The  rest,  he  said,  was  framed  by  the 
Duke  of  Queensberry,  to  decoy  some  of  the  Scottish  Lords,  who  would 
not  go  every  length  which  he  went,  into  guilt.  Burnet,  to  a  certain  extent, 
corroborates  this  by'his  own  testimony,  as  far  as  the  Marquess  of  Athol 
is  concerned.  He  says,  "  When  I  heard  this,  I  could  not  but  remember 
"  what  the  Duke  of  Athol  had  said  to  myself,  soon  after  the  Queen's 
"  coming  to  the  Crown :  I  said,  I  hoped  none  in  Scotland  thought  of  the 
"  Prince  of  Wales :  he  answered,  he  knew  none  that  thought  of  him  as 
"  long  as  the  Queen  lived :  I  replied,  that  if  any  thought  of  him  after 
"  that,  I  was  sure  the  Queen  would  live  no  longer  than  till  they  thought 
"  their  designs  for  him  were  well  laid :  but  he  seemed  to  have  no  appre- 
"  hensions  of  that.  I  presently  told  the  Queen  of  this,  without  naming 
*'  the  person,  and  she  answered  me  very  quick,  there  was  no  manner  of 
*'  doubt  of  that :  but  though  I  could  not  but  reflect  often  on  that  dis- 
"  course,  yet  since  it  was  said  to  me  in  confidence,  I  never  spoke  of  it  to 
*'  any  one  person  during  all  the  Inquiry  that  was  now  on  foot :  but  I 
"  think  it  too  material  not  to  set  it  down  here." 

Burnet  says,  the  Letter  which  the  Duke  of  Queensberry  sent,  with  the 
seal  unbroken,  to  the  Queen,  in  the  hand  of  the  Queen  Dowager,  was 
written  in  such  general  terms,  that  it  might  have  been  directed  to  any  of 
the  great  nobility ;  and  probably  he  who  was  trusted  with  it,  had  power 
given  him  to  direct  it  to  any  to  whom  he  found  it  would  be  most  accepta- 

»  Edit.  Oxf.  1828.  vol.  V.  pp.  95, 128. 

''  Hist,  of  the  Reign  of  Qu.  Anne  diRcslctl  into  Annals,  Vear  the  Second.  8".  1T04. 
p.  244. 

•^  Edit..  12".  1794.  vol.  ii.  p.  213. 

*  Journals  of  the  House  of  Lords,  vol.  vil. 


ORIGINAL    LETTEllS. 

ble  s  for  there  was  nothing  in  the  Letter  that  was  particular  to  any  one 
person  or  family ;  it  only  mentioned  the  promises  and  assurances  sent  to 
her  by  that  Lord.  It  was  directed  on  the  back  by  another  hand,  sup- 
posed Eraser's,  to  L.  M.  The  Duke  of  Queensberry's  Letter  is  dated 
August  1 1'h.  1703.  Lord  Murray  had  succeeded  his  father  as  IMarquess 
of  Athol  on  the  7">,  of  May  preceding :  and  on  the  SO"-,  of  July  he  had 
been  advanced  to  the  dignity  of  Duke  of  Athol. 

This  Plot,  added  to  general  clamour,  for  a  short  time  deprived  the 
Duke  of  Queensberry  of  all  his  Offices  except  that  of  Lord  of  Session. 


May  it  please  your  Majesty, 

I  HAVE  sent  full  accounts  to  Mr.  Nairne  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  your  Parliament,  to  lay  before  your  Ma- 
jesty, and  am  very  sorry  that  I  am  never  able  to  give 
your  Majesty  better  news  from  it. 

It  is  very  uneasy  to  me,  and  cannot  be  pleasant  to 
your  Majesty,  that  I  always  complain  of  your  own  ser- 
vants, and  especially  my  Lord  Privy  Seal,  who  leaves 
me,  and  concurs  in  almost  all  the  humorous  votes 
which  tend  to  jealousies  and  division  betwixt  your  two 
Kingdoms.  We  have  had  two  votes  lately,  in  which  I 
presume  your  Majesty  would  have  expected  that  I 
should  have  had  the  concurrence  of  those  whom  you  are 
pleased  to  trust  in  your  service.  The  first  was,  whether 
the  Officers  of  State  should  be  left  out  of  that  Parlia- 
ment, or  meeting  of  Estates,  which  (long  be  it  hence) 
should  name  the  successor;  and  though  it  was  fully 
and  well  argued,  that  they  were  essential  Members  of 
the  Parliament,  yet  I  could  not  prevail  with  my  Lord 


OllItilNAL    LETTERS.  233 

Privy  Seal  to  vote  for  us :  and  next,  this  day  a  clause 
was  brought  in,  ordaining  the  Kingdom  to  buy  arms, 
and  that  the  whole  fencible  men  should  be  trained  and 
exercised  in  arms,  and  the  reason  for  this  was  very 
fairly  given,  that  because  what  was  done  would  cer- 
tainly oflPend  England ;  and  therefore  that  this  King- 
dom ought  to  be  put  into  a  posture  of  defence.  It  was 
as  fairly  argued  by  us,  that  to  give  an  order  or  law  for 
arming  was  both  unseasonable,  and  undutiful  to  do  any 
such  thing  during  your  Majesty''s  reign,  which  might 
embroil  business  with  England,  and  encourage  the 
common  enemy  abroad ;  yet  in  this  I  could  not  prevail 
with  my  Lord  Privy  Seal  to  give  us  his  vote ;  and  some 
others  of  your  Majesty's  servants  made  a  very  cold 
appearance ;  and  it  is  hard  that,  though  the  plurality 
of  the  Parhament  are  very  well  inclined  to  your  Ma- 
jesty's service,  yet  by  the  fault  of  ourselves  (for  I  dare 
presume  to  say  no  worse)  we  are  almost  outdone  in 
every  thing.  Yet  I  still  hope,  in  what  concerns  your 
Majesty,  your  servants  will  not  encourage  any  en- 
croachments to  be  made  upon  your  prerogative ;  and 
that  they  will  concur  to  obtain  the  less  at  last ;  but  for 
the  invasions  that  are  to  be  made  upon  the  Successor, 
though  I  have  struggled  all  I  can  in  every  point,  yet 
these  will  be  crowded  into  this  Act  of  Security,  which 
was  brought  in  by  my  Lord  Privy  Seal  against  my 
will,  which  I  think  will  now  be  finished  in  a  day  or 
two.     I  shall  send  it  to  your  Majesty,  that  you  may 


234  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

consider  whether  you  will  allow  it  to  be  touched, 
though  I  am  afraid  that  I  shall  not  be  able  to  hinder 
them  to  tack  it  to  the  Supply  Act. 

I  presumed  lately  to  acquaint  your  Majesty  that  I 
had  seen  some  letters  from  a  Gentleman  come  from 
France,  in  which  he  spoke  with  some  assurance  of 
overturning  the  Government  here.  Since  that  time, 
those  who  received  the  letters  asked  liberty  from  me 
to  meet  with  that  (Gentleman,  that  they  might  try  if 
they  could  learn  any  thing  that  might  be  useful  to 
your  Majesty's  service,  which  I  yielded  to,  and  one 
of  them  had  a  long  conference  with  him,  of  which  I 
have  given  your  Majesty  an  account  in  a  memorial 
herewith  transmitted,  and  I  beg  of  your  Majesty,  that 
it  may  be  kept  as  secret,  and  made  known  to  as  few, 
as  may  be.  I  am  not  yet  allowed  to  name  the  persons, 
but  if  your  Majesty  commands  me  I  must  obey. 

God  knows  whether  the  story  be  true  or  false,  but 
my  author  is  a  man  of  that  quality  and  integrity  that 
I  dare  assure  your  Majesty  there  is  neither  mistake 
nor  trick  on  his  part ;  and  this  I  must  say  further,  that 
there  are  several  points  related  in  the  Memorial,  that 
are  otherwise  confirmed,  for  I  have  seen  a  letter  to 
Brigadier  Maitland  from  one  of  his  officers,  wherein 
he  tells  him  that  he  had  intelligence  of  a  Highland 
hunting,  where  six  hundred  of  the  best  of  the  Laird 
of  Grant''s  men  were  to  be  in  arms,  and  the  Duke  of 
Hamilton,  and  the  Marquis  of  Athol  were  to  be  there ; 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  235 

this  letter  I  have  sent  to  Mr.  Nairne.  Major  General 
Buchan  acknowledges  that  one  Mackenzie  was  put 
into  the  Bastile  before  he  came  away,  besides  the  total 
desertion  of  all  the  cavaliers,  except  my  Lords  Balcar- 
ras,  Wigton,  and  Dunmore,  at  that  instant  when  these 
last  orders  came  from  France,  and  their  joining  in  all 
things  contrary  to  the  prerogative  of  the  Crown,  with 
the  vote  this  day  of  arming  of  the  Country,  do  mightily 
instruct  this  declaration  ;  and  it  agrees  pretty  well  with 
the  advertisement  Mr.  Stanhope  had  about  money  to 
be  sent  hither ;  but  whatever  is  in  the  matter,  I  thought 
it  my  duty  to  represent  it  to  your  Majesty. 

I  must  beg  leave  to  know  from  your  Majesty,  if  that 
person  shall  apply  to  me,  and  be  willing  to  own  what 
he  has  said,  how  I  shall  use  him.  It  is  strange  enough 
that  in  his  circumstances  he  should  have  said  so  much, 
and  it  can  hardly  be  expected  that  he  will  forfeit 
what  he  may  expect  from  France,  without  getting  some 
terms  from  your  Majesty. 

I  apprehended,  at  first,  that  any  opposition  I  met 
with  here,  was  no  further  intended  than  to  force  them- 
selves into  places,  and  though  I  value  the  honour  of 
being  in  your  Majesty's  favour  and  service  at  the 
highest  rate,  yet  when  I  considered  that  the  conse- 
quences would  only  be  as  to  me,  and  that  it  would  be 
of  less  importance  to  your  Majesty,  who  served  you, 
I  had  far  more  ease  in  my  mind.  But  now  that  I  have 
too  great  ground  to  apprehend  this  opposition  is  sup- 


236  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

ported  in  order  to  attack  or  shake  your  Majesty *s 
Government,  I  shall  be  ready  to  expose  my  life  and 
fortune  in  your  service,  and  though  I  may  not  be  suc- 
cessful in  the  trust  with  which  your  Majesty  has  ho- 
noured me  here,  yet  I  dare  say,  that  I  shall  be  found 
faithful,  and  that  the  failure  has  not  been  on  my  part, 
but  for  the  want  of  assistance  from  your  Majesty's 
other  servants ;  and  at  the  worst  I  hope  nothing  shall 
be  carried  that  concerns  your  Majesty  immediately ; 
and  a  supply  for  some  years  may  put  your  Majesty  in 
condition  to  retrieve  what  was  not  to  be  hindered  by. 

Madam, 
Your  Majesty's  most  dutiful,  most  humble, 
and  most  obedient  subject  and  servant. 
Holy  rood  House, 
August  the  ll'i'.  1703. 


LETTER  CCCXCVI. 


Tlie  Duke  of  Queensherry  to  the  Queen,  upon  the 
Rising  of  the  Parliament.  Again  upon  the  sup- 
posed Plot. 

[from  the  draft  indorsed  in  the  duke's  hand-writing, 
"  Copy  of  my  Letter  to  the  Q»  Sep\  the  25'"'.  1703."] 


May  it  please  your  Majesty, 
I  STAY  here  some  days,  that  I  may  receive  any 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  237 

orders  your  Majesty  may  be  pleased  to  give,  after  the 
rising  of  the  Parliament  is  known,  which  I  expect  may 
be  on  Sunday  or  Monday  next,  and  I  shall  be  ready 
to  set  out  next  morning.  In  the  mean  time  I  have 
endeavoured  to  confirm  such  members  as  have  served 
your  Majesty  in  the  Parliament,  and  engage  them  to 
return  in  the  same  sentiments,  and  I  found  many  so 
well  satisfied  with  the  touching  of  the  Acts,  that  they 
were  frank  to  have  given  the  Sessions  at  the  12th  of 
October,  and  so  well  pleased  to  see  that  your  Majesty 
keeps  matters  on  the  foot  of  the  Revolution,  that  I  am 
sensible  we  should  have  been  stronger  in  the  Parlia- 
ment in  October  than  perhaps  we  can  be  thereafter; 
and  I  was  once  resolved  to  have  asked  your  Majesty's 
allowance  for  the  Parliament  to  sit  at,  or  about,  the 
time  to  which  it  is  adjourned,  but  I  was  afraid  that 
your  Majesty's  other  servants  would  not  concur  with 
me;  and  I  find  that  many  of  them  are  resolved  to  go  to 
Court,  and  give  out  that  they  have  invitations  to  at- 
tend your  Majesty,  which  made  me  forbear  to  insist 
for  the  Parliament's  sitting  two  or  three  weeks  in 
October. 

The  President  of  the  Session  could  not  be  well 
absent  from  the  Session  here,  and  my  Lord  Regis- 
ter's health  did  not  allow  him  to  travel.  So  I  have 
with  much  difficulty  prevailed  with  my  Lord  Stair 
tg  come   along  with    me,  because   he  knew  all  my 


238  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

management  and  the  proceedings  of  Parliament,  in 
which  he  served  your  Majesty  very  heartily  and 
honestly. 

I  am  glad  to  observe  that  there  is  a  great  calm  at 
present  here ;  one  sort  of  people  are  pleased,  and  the 
other  have  got  no  irritation,  and  they  content  them- 
selves that  the  Session  was  not  obtained. 

I  have  seen  that  person  of  whom  I  formerly  made 
mention  to  your  Majesty ;  he  confirms  all  that  he  had 
said  to  these  persons  who  had  dealt  betwixt  us,  and  adds 
many  things  more;  he  says  he  was  let  into  all  the  secrets 
of  the  correspondence  of  Scotsmen  with  St.  Germains, 
and  tells  plainly  that  very  many  do  correspond  there.  I 
am  bound  to  tell  your  Majesty  (though  I  ought  not  to 
believe  him)  that  he  says,  he  saw  a  letter  last  winter, 
written  by  my  Lord  Tarbat  to  my  Lord  Middleton, 
bearing  that  he  was  made  Secretary  of  State,  and  that 
in  a  short  time  the  Duke  of  Queensberry  was  to  be 
shifted  out,  so  as  he  was  to  be  sole  Secretary,  and 
would  have  all  the  management  of  Scots  business  in 
his  hands,  that  to  secure  their  friends  there  would  be 
a  General  Indemnity  past,  and  the  North  country  and 
Highlands  would  be  made  all  of  a  piece;  that  the  Duke 
of  Queensberry  had  received  five  thousand  pounds  from 
the  family  of  Hanover;  that  my  Lord  Middleton  said, 
he  knew  the  Duke  of  Hamilton  was  capable  to  be 
bribed,  but  did  not  believe  the  Duke  of  Queensberry 


ORIGIN AL    LETTERS.  239 

would  have  taken  money ;  he  declares  that  Mr.  Ogilvie 
of  Boyn  had  frequent  correspondence,  which  he  begun 
when  he  went  over  to  France,  about  his  marble  (yet  I 
must  do  this  gentleman  the  right  to  tell  your  Majesty 
that  he  did  behave  himself  fairly  in  the  Parliament, 
and  there  was  none  of  the  Gentlemen  who  call  them- 
selves Cavaliers  that  did  keep  their  words  so  well  to 
me  as  he  did);  he  declares  that  there  were  three  letters 
written  by  the  late  Queen  at  St.  Germains,  whereof 
one  was  directed  to  the  Duke  of  Hamilton  as  Earl  of 
Arran,  which  was  delivered  by  one  Captain  James 
Murray,  the  other  was  committed  to  the  person  him- 
self to  deliver  to  the  Duke  of  Gordon,  which  he  actually 
did  before  he  had  entered  into  any  correspondence  with 
me,  and  the  third  was  directed  to  the  Lord  Murray 
now  Marquis  of  Athol,  which  was  not  delivered  when 
he  began  this  correspondence,  and  that  he  found  the 
way  to  be  master  of  that  letter  before  it  was  delivered, 
which  he  gave  to  me,  and  I  have  transmitted  to  your 
Majesty,  without  breaking  the  seal,  which  is  clear  the 
effigies  of  the  King,  your  Majesty's  father.  This  per- 
son is  willing  to  come  to  London,  and  to  give  what 
accounts  he  knows,  providing  he  may  do  it  secretly, 
and  he  offers  to  return  to  France,  and  discover  all  the 
correspondence  and  designs,  but  says  that  if  he  fall 
under  observation,  or  that  he  be  discovered,  he  runs 
the  risk  to  be  broke  on  the  wheel ;  he  says  what  money 


240  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

is  transmitted  yet  from  France,  is  only  for  the  use  of 
some  particular  persons,  and  that  it  comes  by  bills  to 
London,  and  brought  hither  in  specie. 

I  confess  it  is  hard  to  think  how  one  should  know, 
or  be  ready  to  reveal  so  much,  yet  the  delivering  of 
that  principal  letter,  and  the  showing  his  own  com- 
mission under  the  hand  and  seal  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  as  King  James  the  Eighth  and  Third,  which 
he  says  was  the  first  paper  sealed  with  his  new  Seal, 
these  do  give  credit  to  what  else  could  not  have  been 
so  well  trusted  ;  and  he  says  that  he  has  a  commission 
as  Major  General  from  the  French  King  which  lies 
there,  that  it  might  give  no  offence,  till  once  the  forces 
designed  were  raised.  I  thought  it  necessary  to  enter- 
tain him  with  some  money  till  your  Majesty  do  signify 
your  further  pleasure  about  him. 

The  Marquis  of  Athol's  great  failing  in  the  Parlia- 
ment, with  this  letter,  made  me  once  very  doubtful 
whether  I  should  give  him  out  his  patent  as  Duke, 
which  your  Majesty  had  commanded  to  be  done ;  but 
the  regard  I  have  punctually  to  obey  all  your  Majesty's 
commands  determined  me  to  give  it  out,  and  now  many 
who  were  witnesses  of  his  actings  in  Parliament,  and 
who  know  that  he  stands  upon  a  Jacobite  foot,  are 
mightily  scandalized  that  he  finds  the  first  effects  of 
your  Majesty's  great  favour  after  the  Parliament,  and 
this   I  am    afraid  may  discourage  them,    who   have 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  241 

acted   a   contrary   part   for    your   Majesty's    service 
in  it. 

Having  hopes  shortly  to  attend  your  Majesty,  I  shall 
at  present  offer  no  more  trouble  from, 

Madam, 
Your  Majesty's  most  dutiful,  most  faithful, 
and  most  obedient  subject  and  servant. 

Holyrood  House, 
Sept.  the  25th.  1703. 


LETTER  CCCXCVII. 


Dr.  D'Avenant  to  his  Son,  after  the  News  of  the  Bat- 
tle of  Hochstet,  otherwise  called  the  Battle  ofBlein- 
heim,  had  arrived  in  London. 

[M8.  lamsd.  773.  foL  61.  Orig.} 

*^*  Charles  D'Avenant  LL.D.  was  the  eldest  son  of  Sir  William 
D'Avenant  the  poet.  An  Account  of  him  will  be  found  in  the  Biogra> 
phia  Britannica.  His  works,  as  a  political  writer,  are  well  known. 
Henry  D'Avenant  his  son  became  the  English  Agent  at  Frankfort. 


Aug.  15ti'.  1704. 
Harry, 
I  HAVE  in  effect  five  of  yours  to  answer,  viz.  the 
four  that  came  together,  and  the  fifth  which  arrived 

VOL.  IV.    SER.  2.  R 


242  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

on  last  Sunday  night,  but  before  that  Mail  arrived,-! 
had  seen  Colonel  Parks,  who  with  other  good  news 
brought  me  that  of  your  being  in  perfect  health.     He 
got  hither  by  Thursday  the  10*.  instant  at  two  o'clock 
afternoon,  notwithstanding  he  was  kept  two  days  and 
a  half  at  sea  by  contrary  winds,  and  landed  120  miles 
from  London,  so  that  the  haste  he  made  was  very  com- 
mendable, and  I  hope  it  has  made  his  fortune.     The 
Queen  told  him  he  had  given  her  more  joy  than  ever  she 
had  received  in  her  life,  and  that  very  soon  she  would 
make  him  glad.     The  Duchess  of  Marlborough  and 
my  Lord  Treasurer  bid  him  be  careful  of  his  person, 
and  that  they  would  take  care  of  his  fortune.     When 
he  arrived  there  was  a  general  damp  upon  the  spirit 
of  all  those  who  understood  business ;  the  Wednesday 
Mails  gave  us  an  account  of  the  junction,  and  we  be- 
gan to  apprehend  that  the  French  and  Bavarians  were 
superior  in  Germany,  or  that  at  best  the  Duke  would 
be  able  to  do  no  more  than  to  form  some  Siege,  which 
as  to  the  sum  of  affairs  would  have  been  of  no  import- 
ance, and  'tis  visible  enough  what  would  have  been  the 
ejffects  of  a  fruitless  campaign.     They  who  malign  the 
Government,  that  is  to  say  the  high-flyers  of  both  sides, 
would  have  triumphed  beyond  measure,  taxes  must 
have  been  augmented,  and  yet  if  nothing  had  been 
done  the  Queen's  affairs  would  have   gone   on   very 
heavily   next   Session  of  Pailiament,   the   Ministers 
would  certainly  have  been  attacked,  as  it  generally 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  243 

happens  in  our  government  when  the  state  labours 
under  misfortunes  or  disappointments ;  but,  God  be 
thanked,  this  is  now  all  over,  and  I  take  the  Queen's 
throne  to  be  now  securely  fixed,  and  that  her  ministers 
are  upon  a  foundation  which  nothing  can  shake.  With- 
out this  victory  there  are  those  who  have  malice  enough 
perhaps  to  have  accused  the  Duke  of  Marlborough  for 
his  march  to  the  Danube,  though  'tis  evident  nothing 
else  could  have  saved  the  Empire  from  utter  ruin.  The 
Victory  was  so  complete,  and  the  whole  action  con- 
ducted with  such  wisdom,  that  there  is  no  room  left  for 
envy  or  malice  to  detract  from  the  Duke's  honour.  I 
look  upon  it  as  the  greatest  battle  that  has  been  fought 
for  these  last  thousand  years,  considering  that  the 
flower  of  all  Europe  was  at  once  engaged  ;  the  battle 
of  Pavia  was  in  no  degree  so  considerable,  and  yet  the 
consequences  of  it  lodged  the  power  of  Europe  for  a 
whole  age  in  the  hands  of  Spain.  'Tis  such  a  blow  to 
France  that  I  am  confident  they  will  not  recover  it  in 
many  years,  nor  can  I  remember  to  have  read  in  History 
of  any  country  that  did  ever  heal  after  it  had  received 
so  deep  a  wound ;  I  mean  under  a  monarchy.  As 
Comenes  says,  "  Perte  de  battaile  a  grande  Que," 
which  he  said  upon  the  battle  the  Duke  of  Burgundy 
lost  by  Nancy,  by  which  the  fate  of  that  great  Princi- 
pality was  determined ;  and  upon  the  same  ground  we 
may  hope  that  the  blow  France  has  received  on  the 
Danube  will,  however,  for  one  age  put  a  stop  to  the 

R  2 


244  ORIGINAL    LETTERS.     " 

designs  they  have  been  forming  for  Universal  Empire. 
I  have  this  post  congratulated  with  the  Duke  of  Marl- 
borough for  his  victory.  Enclosed  you  have  a  copy 
of  my  letter. 

About  three  weeks  ago  Count  Brian^on  delivered 
me  the  medal  from  Princess  Sophia,  and  I  had  pre- 
pared a  very  elaborate  letter  to  Her  Royal  Highness, 
the  design  of  which  was  to  prepare  her  for  the  disap- 
pointment I  have  foreseen  for  some  time  she  would 
receive  as  to  the  succession  in  Scotland ;  indeed  I  did 
not  think  that  matter  would  have  been  so  soon  deter- 
mined, but  it  seems  they  began  the  Parliament  with  it. 
They  have  granted  the  Queen  a  six  months'  tax,  and 
she  has  passed  their  Security  Act,  whereby  the  Crown- 
Prerogative  is  very  much  diminished,  and  they  have 
got  their  ends  with  the  Queen's  obtaining  hers.  How- 
ever, I  am  of  opinion  'twas  the  wisest  course  Her  Ma- 
jesty could  take,  for  she  has  thereby  reconciled  to 
herself  all  those  who  opposed  the  Court  upon  any 
principle  of  the  public  good;  for,  having  whatever  they 
could  in  reason  or  justice  desire,  they  who  shall  form 
Oppositions  hereafter  will  be  thought  to  be  bribed  by 
France,  which  upon  this  Victory  will  be  but  a  cold 
game.  Upon  the  whole  matter  I  hope  the  Queen's 
hands  are  now  so  strengthened,  and  her  enemies  botli 
abroad  and  at  home  are  so  dispirited,  that  she  will  be 
able  to  obtain  in  any  part  of  her  dominion  whatever 
fihe  conceives  to  tend  to  the  general  welfare  of  her 


ORIGIKAL    LETTERS.  245 

people,  so  that  I  believe  in  a  little  time  the  Succession 
will  be  settled,  especially  if  England  next  Session  of 
Parliament  shows  itself  inclined  to  enter  upon  an 
Union,  and  to  grant  the  Scots  a  free  communication 
of  our  Trade,  which  I  have  ever  thought  just,  and 
without  which  I  am  apt  to  think  they  will  never  ac- 
knowledge our  Successor,  unless  by  force  we  compel 
them  to  do  it, 

I  thank  you  for  the  copy  of  your  letter  to  Mr.  Har- 
ley :  there  was  nothing  in  it  against  which  there  could 
be  a  reasonable  objection,  nor  did  your  last  to  me  con- 
tain any  more  melancholy  reflections  than  the  Duke 
himself  made  to  my  Lord  Treasurer ;  however,  consi- 
dering the  ^ood  News  which  got  hither  before  your 
last  despatch,  I  am  glad  you  were  so  fortunate  as  not 
to  communicate  your  politics  to  Mr.  Secretary. 

I  desire  you  to  look  out  sharp  whether  or  no  there  is 
any  likelihood  of  the  Duke  of  Bavaria's  entering  into 
the  Alliance  before  Christmas ;  we  think  here  he  will  be 
reduced  to  it,  and  that  the  Confederates  will  still  give 
him  terms.  Sir  Stephen  Evans  and  I  in  partnership 
have  laid  two  hundred  guineas  upon  it ;  if  you  believe 
him  obstinate,  or  the  thing  impracticable,  advise  me 
of  it,  for  I  can  edge  it  off,  and  with  advantage.  Your 
mother  and  grandmother  send  you  their  blessings,  and 
sisters  their  love.     I  am 

Your  most  affectionate  father, 

CHARLES    BAVENANT. 


246  OllIGIXAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCXCVIII. 

Prince  George  of  Hanover ,  afterwards  King  George  II., 
to  Queen  Anne,  upon  Ids  7'eceiving  the  Order  of  the 
Garter. 


[mS.  DONAT.  BRIT.  MUS.  4903.  fol.  17.    ENTIRELY  IN  THE  PRINCE's 
HAND.] 


Madame, 

J'ai  regu  avec  une  parfaite  reconnoisance  la  Lettre 
dont  il  a  plus  a  votre  Majeste  de  charger  Mr.  le  Baron 
de  Halifax.  Je  suis  penetre  de  la  marque  de  distinc- 
tion dont  elle  a  bien  voulu  m'honorer  en  me  donnant 
rOrdre  de  la  Jarretiere.  Je  supplie  votre  Majeste 
d'etre  persuadee  que  je  ne  desire  rien  plus  ardemment 
que  de  faire  voir  par  mes  actions  que  je  ne  suis  pas 
indigne  d'entrer  dans  un  si  illustre  corps.  My  Lord 
Halifax  n'a  pas  manque  de  me  donner  les  assurances 
les  plus  obligeantes  des  sentimens  pleins  de  bonte  de 
votre  Majeste  a  mon  6gard.  Je  me  flatte  qu'ii  son 
retour  en  Angleterre  il  luy  fera  fidele  rapport  de  mon 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  247 

parfait  devouement  pour  elle,  et  du  profond  respect 
avec  lequel  je  serai  toute  ma  vie, 

Madame, 
de  votre  Majeste  le  tres  humble 

et  tres  obeissant  serviteur, 

GEORGE    AUGUSTE,    Pr,  El. 

Hannover,  cc  20 , 
Juin,  1706. 

A  sa  Majesty 

La  Reine  de  la  Grand  Bretagne. 


LETTER  CCCXCIX. 


Prince  George  of  Hanover  to  Queen  Anne,  upon  re- 
ceiving his  Patent  as  Duke  of  Cambridge.  Com- 
plimentaiy  upon  the  Union  with  Scotland, 

[ms.  donat.  bhit.  mus.  4903.  art.  25.  Orig.  entirely  in  the 
prince's  hand-writing.] 


Madame, 
Mr.  How  n'a  pas  manque  de  me  remettre  la  Lettre 
dont  votre  Majest6  m'a  honor6  avec  les  patentes  de 
Du*c  de  Cambridge,  qu'elle  a  eu  la  bonte  de  m'accorder. 
Je  la  supplie  tres  humblement  d'etre  persuad^e  que 
j'ai  recu  Tune  et  Tautrfi  avec  une  extreme  reconnois- 
sancc,  et  qu'on  ne  peut  pas  faire  plus  de  cas  que  j'en 


248  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

fais  de  cette  dignite,  ny  ^tre  plus  penetre  que  je  le  suis 
de  la  maniere  obligeante  dont  votre  Majeste  me  Ta 
conferee.  Je  tacherai  d'y  repondre  par  le  plus  parfait 
devouement,  et  par  les  sentimens  les  plus  zelez  et  les 
plus  respectueux.  Je  me  flatte,  que  votre  Majeste  ne 
trouvera  pas  mauvais  si  je  me  sers  d'une  occasion  si 
favorable  pour  lui  tdmoigner  la  part  que  je  prends  au 
grand  ouvrage  qu'elle  vient  d'acheuer  en  donnant  la 
derniere  main  -k  TUnion  des  deux  Royaumes.  Cest 
un  endroit  si  glorieux  de  son  Regne,  que  qiioi  qu'il 
n''ait  6te  qu'une  suite  continuelle  de  merveilles  et  de 
grands  6venemens,  il  semble  que  celuicy  fut  necessaire 
pour  mettre  dans  tout  son  jour  le  soin  infatigable  avec 
lequel  votre  Majeste  s'aplique  a  aiFermir  sur  des  fonde- 
mens  inebranlables  le  bonheur  de  ses  sujets.  Je  suis 
avec  un  tres  profond  respect, 

Madame, 
de  votre  Majeste,  le  tres  humble 

et  tres  obeissant  serviteur, 

GEORGE    AUGUSTE,    Pr.  El. 

Hannover,  ce  8  Avril, 
1707. 

A  sa  Majeste 

La  Reyne  de  la  Grand  Bretagne. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  249 


LETTER  CCCC. 


Lord  Sunderland  to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle.  Proposes 
to  make  a  stand  in  Parliament,  or  the  Prince  of 
Wales  will  be  brought  in. 

[MS,  LANSD.  1236.  fol.  236.  Orig.^ 


Althorp,  Aug.  9"'.  1708. 
My  Lord, 
I  BELIEVE  Lord  Sommers  and  Lord  Halifax  have 
acqumnted  your  Grace  with  the  unlucky  accidents 
that  have  prevented  our  waiting  you  at  Welbeck ; 
however  I  should  have  done  myself  the  honour  to  have 
gone  alone,  but  that,  since  my  coming  here,  I  have  had 
the  ill  luck  to  sprain  ray  foot,  which  has  put  me  to  a 
gi'eat  deal  of  pain  and  trouble,  but  is  now  something 
easier.  I  own  I  am  extremely  concerned  at  this  dis- 
appointment, for  besides  the  pleasure  of  waiting  upon 
your  Grace,  it  would  have  been  of  use  to  have  talked 
together  of  the  present  posture  of  our  affairs,  which 
though  they  are  very  fortunately  and  unexpectedly 
mended  abroad,  by  our  success  in  Flanders  and  in  the 
West  Indies,  yet  seem  to  grow  worse  and  worse  every 
day  at  home ;  for  without  running  over  all  the  particu- 
lars, such  as  the  villainous  management  of  Scotland, 


250  OKIGINAL    LETTERS. 

the  state  of  the  Fleet,  which  is  worse  than  ever,  the 
condition  of  Ireland  in  which  the  Protestant  interest 
is  lower  and  the  Popish  higher  than  ever,  their  late 
management  in  relation  to  the  Invasion,  and  in  parti- 
cular the  pardoning  Lord  Griffin,  is  a  declaration  to 
the  whole  world,  as  far  as  in  them  lies,  for  the  Prince 
of  Wales  and  against  the  Protestant  succession.  These 
are  such  proceedings,  that,  if  there  is  not  a  just  spirit 
shewn  in  Parliament,  we  had  as  good  give  up  the 
game  and  submit  to  my  Lord  Treasurer  and  Lord 
Marlborough's  bringing  in  the  Prince  of  Wales. 

My  reason  of  troubling  your  Grace  with  all  this  is  to 
conjure  you  not  to  defer  coming  to  town  too  long,  till 
just  the  Parliament  meets ;  for  whatever  is  proper  to 
be  done  must  be  concerted  beforehand,  and  that  cannot 
be  done  without  your  presence  and  influence.  I  know 
you  are  very  averse  to  coming  to  town  before  your 
time,  but  three  weeks  or  a  month  sooner  or  later  I  hope 
will  break  no  squares,  and  it  is  so  absolutely  necessary, 
that  it  is  the  joint  request  of  your  friends  and  humble 
servants;  and  indeed  our  all  is  at  stake;  for  if  next 
Sessions  of  Parliament  does  not  redress  the  mischiefs, 
there's  an  end  of  the  Revolution  and  the  Protestant 
succession. 

I  have  obeyed  your  commands  in  relation  to  Mr. 
Rayner ;  as  for  Mr.  Attwood,  several  merchants  of  the 
•other  side  have  lodged  a  Petition  against  him,  so  that 
he  has  desired  to  have  the  matter  put  off  till  more  of  his 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  251 

friends  are  in  Town.     Your  Grace  may  depend  upon 
my  doing  him  all  the  service  I  can. 

I  hope  your  Grace  has  your  health  well  in  the 
country,  and  beg  you  to  believe  that  I  am  with  the 
greatest  truth  and  respect, 

My  Lord, 
Your  Grace''s  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

SUNDERLAND. 


LETTER  CCCCI. 


Lord  Sunderland  to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle.     The 

Resolution  of  certain  Peers  to  declare  against  the 

Court.     The  Removal  of  Prince  George  of  Den- 

marJi  from  his  Office  of  Lord  High  Admiral  pro- 

jected. 

[MS.  LANSD.  1236.  fol.  238.   Orxg.l 


My  Lord, 
I  GIVE  your  Grace  this  trouble  at  the  desire  of  the 
Dnke  of  Devonshire,  the  Duke  of  Bolton,  Lord  Dor- 
chester, Lord  Orford,  Lord  Wharton,  Lord  Towns- 
hend.  Lord  Sommers,  and  Lord  Halifax,  to  give  you 
an  account  of  what  has  passed  between  them  and  Lord 
Treasurer  in  relation  to  the  present  posture  of  our 


252  ORIGINAL    LETTEllS. 

affairs,  in  which  they  hope  what  steps  they  have  made 
will  meet  with  your  approbation.  They  have  upon 
the  best  consideration  among  themselves  come  to  this 
resolution  and  opinion,  that  it  was  impossible  for  them, 
with  any  reputation  to  themselves  or  safety  to  the 
public,  to  go  on  any  longer  with  the  Court,  upon  the 
foot  things  are  at  present ;  for  that  if  one  looks  round 
every  part  of  the  Administration,  the  management  of 
the  Fleet,  the  condition  of  Ireland,  the  Proceedings  in 
Scotland,  the  management  of  the  late  Invasion,  the 
disposal  of  Church  Preferments,  &c.  they  are  all  of  a 
piece,  as  much  tory,  and  as  wrong  as  if  Lord  Rochester 
and  Lord  Nottingham  were  at  the  head  of  every  thing, 
under  the  disguise  of  some  considerable  Whigs  in 
some  considerable  places,  but  with  so  little  credit,  or 
to  so  little  purpose,  that  they  can  neither  obtain  any 
right  thing  to  be  done,  nor  prevent  any  wrong  one. 
They  considered  that  the  management  of  the  fleet,  as 
it  is  of  the  greatest  consequence,  so  it  is  under  the  most 
scandalous  management  of  all,  and  that  this  is  never  to 
be  cured  but  by  the  Prince's  quitting;  for  that  what- 
ever Council  he  has,  George  Churchill  will  in  effect  be 
always  Lord  High  Admiral;  so  that  they  have  in  a 
body  declared  to  Lord  Treasurer,  that  if  this  is  not 
immediately  done,  they  must  let  the  world  and  their 
friends  see  they  have  nothing  more  to  do  with  the 
Court.  The  man  they  propose  to  be  Lord  High 
Admiral  is  Lord  Pembroke  (which  would  open  a  re- 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


g53 


dress  for  Ireland,  and,  what  is  so  much  desired  by  all 
honest  people,  the  President's  place  for  Lord  Sommers). 
My  Lord  Treasurer  seemed  to  agree  with  them  in 
opinion,  (as  his  way  always  is  in  words,)  but  at  the 
same  time  pretends  great  difficulties,  and  that  when 
Lord  Marlborough  comes  all  will  be  set  right,  which 
by  the  way  cannot  be  much  before  Christmas.  To  this 
the  Lords  told  him  that  they  could  no  longer  rely  upon 
promises  and  words,  and  that  therefore  they  must  take 
their  measures,  till  this  thing  was  actually  done,  as  if 
it  never  was  to  be  done ;  and  they  told  him  therefore 
plainly  that  they  would  and  must  oppose  the  Court  in 
the  choice  of  a  Speaker,  that  being  the  first  point  to 
come  on,  for  that  they  had  no  other  way  left  to  let  the 
world  see,  and  all  their  friends,  that  they  were  upon  a 
different  foot  to  this.  He  was  pleased  to  make  a  pro- 
posal, which  was  as  ridiculous  as  it  shewed  the  uncer- 
tainty of  their  intentions  to  do  any  thing  that  was  right, 
and  that  was  that  there  should  be  an  Act  of  Parliament 
obtained  to  allow  the  Prince  to  continue  Lord  High 
Admiral,  and  to  empower  his  Council  to  act  for  him. 
It  would  be  tedious  to  repeat  all  the  objections  the 
Lords  made  to  this  proposal,  as  absurd,  ridiculous, 
and  ineffectual,  and  what  no  Parliament  ever  would 
hear  of :  I  will  only  mention  one  particular,  which  is 
very  remarkable  and  pretty  extraordinary,  that  Lord 
Treasurer  told  them  that  he  had  mentioned  this  pro- 
posal to  Lord  Chancellor,  and  that  he  had  entirely 


254  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

approved  of  it :  Lord  Chancellor  since  has  been  told 
what  Lord  Treasurer  said,  and  he  does  positively  affirm 
that  he  does  not  remember  that  ever  Lord  Treasurer 
spoke  to  him,  or  he  to  Lord  Treasurer  of  any  such  pro- 
posal. This  extraordinary  proceeding  has  been  a  further 
confirmation  to  the  I^ords  of  the  reason  they  have  to 
declare  against  the  Court,  which  they  are  resolved  to 
do  in  this  first  point  of  the  Speaker,  by  setting  up  Sir 
Peter  King ;  and  I  am  confident  when  the  Court  see 
this,  that  the  Whigs  will  no  longer  be  fooled ;  they  will 
then  do  all  reasonable  things,  which  they  will  never 
do  whilst  they  hope  that  words  and  promises  will  pass. 
I  must  not  forget  telling  you  that  this  day,  unex- 
pectedly, without  any  body  knowing  any  thing  of  it, 
Sir  James  Mountague  has  been  made  Attorney  Ge- 
neral and  Mr.  Eyres  Solicitor,  which,  I  believe,  has 
been  owing  to  the  vigour  with  which  those  Lords  spoke 
to  Lord  Treasurer,  and  confirms  them  in  their  opinion 
that  if  they  go  on  in  their  resolution  and  stand  toge- 
ther, the  other  more  essential  things  will  be  also  done. 
My  Lord  Steward,  to-morrow,  is  to  speak  to  Lord 
Chancellor  to  acquaint  him  with  die  resolutions  they 
have  taken,  and  to  try  to  persuade  him  to  act,  with 
spirit  and  vigour,  with  the  rest  of  his  friends. 

I  beg  a  thousand  pardons  for  this  long  long  Letter, 
but  as  I  have  been  forced  to  omit  a  great  many  par- 
ticulars for  fear  of  being  too  tedious,  so  I  was  very 
desirous  myself,  as  well  as  at  the  command  of  these 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  255 

Lords,  to  explain  this  whole  affair  to  your  Grace  as 
well  as  I  could,  hoping  you  will  approve  of  what  they 
have  done ;  for,  in  our  present  condition,  all  depends 
upon  our  acting  of  a  piece  and  in  concert ;  and,  if  we 
do  so,  we  must  carry  our  point,  and  save  our  Country, 
which  I  think  is  in  as  great  danger  as  ever  I  knew. 
I  must  add  the  request  of  all  these  Lords  to  your 
Grace,  that  you  would  let  them  have  your  company 
and  assistance  here  in  town  as  soon  as  may  be. 
I  am  ever,  with  the  greatest  respect, 
My  Lord, 

Your  Grace's  most  obedient 
humble  servant, 

SUNDERLAND. 


LETTER  CCCCII. 


Dr.  WIdte  JCennett,  afterxvards  Bishop  of  Peterborough, 
to 

[ms.  lansd.  825.  fol.  7.  Orlg.\ 


Dear  Sir, 
On  Thursday  night  I  was  pressed  away  by  com- 
mand into  service  here  the  next  mornnig,  for  want  of 
ordinary  Chaplains,  which  I  wish  it  were  in  my  power 
to  supply,  that  you  might  see  the  duties  of  Waiting. 


256  'OEIGINAL    LETTERS. 

I  was  under  the  sad  apprehension  of  being  hurried 
away  to  Newmarket,  but  her  Majesty,  resisting  the 
advice  of  her  physicians,  was  pleased  yesterday  to 
comply  with  a  motion  of  the  Prince,  and  declared  her 
resolution  of  not  going  this  season,  which  I  see  is  a 
great  joy  to  most  of  the  good  Courtiers,  and  gave  the 
Ladies  a  new  lesson,  that  she  who  governs  the  Nation 
can  govern  herself  so  well,  as  always  to  oblige  her 
Husband. 

Dr.  Atterbury  preached  the  election  Sermon  Mich. 
Day  for  the  Lord  Mayor,  correcting  Mr.  Hoadley 
for  Sedition,  and  carrying  up  the  old  doctrines  of 
Obed.  so  very  high,  that  a  majority  of  the  Aldermen 
were  much  offended,  and  put  a  negative  upon  the  mo- 
tion for  printing  his  Sermon. 

We  have  yet  no  certain  advices  of  taking  Lisle,  but 

we  seem  very  much  to  depend  upon  it,  and  upon  a 

happy  end  of  the  Campaign  in  every  part  of  Europe ; 

-which  I  pray  God  grant.     Due  respects  to  you  and 

yours. 

Your  affectionate  kinsman, 

WH.  KENNETT. 

Kensington, 
Octob.  2,  1708. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  .  257 


LETTER  CCCCIII. 

The  Earl  of  Sunderland  to  the  DuTce  of  Newcastle. 
The  Death  of  Prince  George  of  Denmark.  Official 
Changes. 

[ms.  LANSD.  1236.  foL  244.   Orig.] 


London,  Nov.  4'»\  1708. 
My  Lord, 
Since  I  wrote  last  to  your  Grace,  and  had  the  ho- 
nour of  your  answer,  the  death  of  the  Prince  has  made 
so  great  an  alteration  in  every  thing,  and  particularly 
in  what  was  most  at  every  body's  heart,  the  affair  of 
the  Admiralty,  that  as  soon  as  it  happened,  those  of 
our  friends  of  the  House  of  Commons  that  were  in 
Town,  and  that  were  the  most  zealous  with  us  in  setting 
up  Sir  Peter  King,  begun  to  press  us  to  accommodate 
the  matter  and  not  to  make  division,  since  by  this  ac- 
cident there  was  room  to  have  every  thing  set  right ; 
since  that,  my  Lord  Treasurer  has  acquainted  us  that 
the  Queen  had  agreed  to  make  Lord  Pembroke  Lord 
High  Admiral,  Lord  Sommers  President,  and  Lord 
Wharton  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland.  Lord  Sommers 
is  out  of  Town,  so  that  whether  he  will  be  persuaded 
to  accept  of  it,  or  no,  I  cannot  tell ;  but  he  would  be 

VOL.  IV.    SER.  2.  s 


258  ORIGINAL  LETTERS. 

SO  much  in  the  wrong  if  he  should  not,  that  I  won't 
doubt  but  he  will.  These  Proposals  are  so  great  in 
themselves  towards  putting  things  upon  a  thorough 
right  foot,  that  those  Lords  in  whose  names  I  wrote 
last  to  your  Grace  have  desired  me  to  acquaint  you 
with  it,  and  that  their  thoughts  upon  it  are,  that  since 
these  main  things  are  like  to  be  done,  it  would  by  no 
means  be  right  to  venture  a  division  of  our  friends 
upon  the  first  point  of  the  Speaker,  and  therefore  they 
have  already  spoke  with  Sir  Peter  King,  in  order  to 
endeavour  to  make  him  easy  in  it ;  so  that  if  your 
Grace  is  of  the  same  mind,  and  approves  what  they 
have  done,  you  will  please  to  let  your  friends  of  the 
House  of  Commons  know  it  in  the  manner  you  shall 
judge  properest.  We  are  in  expectation  of  seeing  you 
here  every  day.  However,  these  Lords  directed  me 
to  acquaint  you  with  it  as  soon  as  possible.  I  am  ever, 
with  the  greatest  truth  and  respect. 
My  Lord, 
Your  Grace's  most  obedient 
.    .  /        .     .     humble  servant, 

SUNDERLAND. 


ORIGINAL    LETTEKS.  259 


LETTER  CCCCIV. 

The  Duke  ofMailborough  to The 

dismal  aspect  of  affairs. 

[ms.  sloak.  1407.  fol.  104.] 


Aug.  the  18th.  1710. 

SlE, 

Poor  Mr.  Cardonnel  being  sick,  I  must  ask  your 
pardon  for  writing  in  English  :  but  I  would  not  defer 
any  longer  returning  you  my  thanks  for  your  obliging 
Letter  of  the  5'^.  and  assuring  you  at  the  same  time 
the  satisfaction  I  take  in  the  good  choice  the  ElectcM* 
has  made  of  Mons''.  de  Bothmer.  Our  conjuncture  in 
England  is  so  very  extraordinary,  that  it  will  require 
not  only  his  diligence  but  also  his  utmost  prudence. 
I  pray  God  every  thing  may  end  for  the  best ;  but  our 
dismal  aspect  seems  rather  favourable  for  France  than 
for  ourselves. 

I  am  with  truth. 
Sir, 
Your  faithful  friend  and  servant, 

MARLBOROUGH. 


s2 


260  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCCV. 

Robert  Harley,  Esq.  to  the  Elector  of  Hanover.    His 

devotion  to  the  Elector's  Person  and  Serene  House. 

[MS.  SLOAK.  4107.  fol.  106.] 

*,*  The  Reader  is  now  presented  with  a  few  Letters  which  show  the 
manner  in  which  the  British  Statesmen,  when  they  thought  the  reign  of 
Anne  seemed  drawing  to  its  close,  approached  the  heirs  expectant  The 
Princess  Sophia  was  advanced  in  years.  Their  chief  homage  was  to  the 
Electoral  Prince. 

Queen  Anne's  aversion  to  the  presence  of  a  Prince  of  the  House  of 
Hanover  at  her  Court,  wUl  be  seen  in  some  other  Letters.  It  probably 
was  not  the  mere  presence  of  a  successor  that  was  so  hatefuL  The 
Elector  of  Hanover,  when  Prince,  in  1680,  had  expressly  arrived  on  the 
shores  of  England  as  a  suitor  to  the  Queen,  then  the  Lady  Anne,  but 
had  quitted  them  to  marry  the  Princess  Sophia  Dorothea  of  Zell.  Anne 
too,  in  spite  of  the  Protestant  Succession,  had  moments  of  thought,  if  not 
of  pity  for  her  brother. 


May  it  please  your  Highness, 
I  DO  myself  the  honour  to  make  this  tender  of  my 
most  humble  duty  to  your  Electoral  Highness  by  the 
hands  of  Mrs.  Cresset,  who  being  my  relation,  and 
her  affairs  calling  her  into  Germany,  I  was  not  willing 
to  let  her  go  without  putting  in  your  Highness's  hands 
this  testimony  of  my  devotion  to  your  Electoral  High- 
ness''s  person  and  your  Serene  House.  I  have  hitherto 
chose,  that  this  should  appear  rather  by  my  actions 
than  by  bare  words.  But  since  the  Queen  has  done 
me.  the  honour  to  bring  me  again  into  her  service,  I 
could  not  be  a  faithful  or  acceptable  servant  to  her 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


261 


Majesty  without  studying  to  serve  your  Highness's 
interest. 

I  do  not  presume  to  give  your  Electoral  Highness 
any  account  of  the  late  changes  here.  I  doubt  not  but 
that  Earl  Rivers  has  laid  before  you  the  grounds  which 
necessitated  the  Queen  to  do  what  she  has  done ;  which 
has  also  given  the  greater  and  better  part  of  the  Nation 
an  opportunity  to  express  their  duty  to  your  most 
Serene  House. 

I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  write  this  in  English, 
because  I  know  your  Electoral  Highness  has  an  En- 
glish heart ;   that  you  may  be  assured  it  comes  from 
a  heart  entirely  devoted  to  your  service. 
I  am,  with  the  profoundest  duty, 

may  it  please  your  Highness, 
Your  Electoral  Highness's  most  dutiful, 
most  humble,  and  most  obedient  servant, 

ROBERT  HARLEY. 

London,  Novemb.  Vt*  I'TIO. 


LETTER  CCCCVL 

The  Elector's  Answer  to  Mr.  Harley. 

[MS.  LANSD.  1236.  foL  263.  Orig.\ 


Hannover  le  15T)ec.  1710. 
Monsieur, 

Madame  Cresset  m'a  rendu  la  Lettre  que  vous 


262  ORIGINAL    LETTEES. 

avez  pris  la  peine  de  m'ecrire.  J'ay  re9U  avec  beau- 
coup  de  plaisir  les  assurances  qu'*elle  contient  de  vostre 
attachement  aux  interets  de  ma  Maison,  et  c'est  avec 
beaucoup  de  joye  que  j'aprens  que  la  Reyne  honore  de 
sa  confiance  un  Ministre  qui  connoist  si  parfaitement 
les  veritables  interets  de  la  Grand  Bretagne,  et  qui  a 
toujours  marque  tant  de  zele  pour  sa  Patrie. 

Comme  rien  ne  m'est  plus  precieux  que  cette  bien- 
veillance  dont  sa  Majeste  m'a  donne  tant  de  marques, 
vous  ne  scauriez  m'obliger  plus  sensiblement  qu'en 
contribuant  a  me  la  conserver.  Je  la  cultiveray  de 
mon  coste  avec  tout  le  soin  imaginable,  et  je  seray  tou- 
jours fort  aise  de  vous  faire  voir  la  consideration  que 
j'ay  pour  vostre  personne,  et  la  sincerite  avec  laquelle 
je  suis. 

Monsieur, 

Vostre  tres  affectionne, 

GEORGE  LOUIS,  EUcteur. 

Mr.  Robert  Harlay. 


LETTER  CCCCVII. 

Robert  Harley,  Esq.  to  the  Elector  of  Hmiovery  in 
return  to  his  Highness''s  Answer. 

[MS.  DONAT.  4107.  art.  122.] 


May  it  please  your  Highness, 
I  RECEIVED  the  great  honour  of  your  Electoral 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


263 


Highness's  Letter  of  December  15th,  with  that  pro- 
found respect  and  thankfulness  which  is  due  to  so 
obliging  a  mark  of  your  condescension  and  goodness. 
I  beseech  your  Highness  to  accept  the  assurance  of 
my  utmost  fidelity  and  inviolable  attachment  to  the 
interest  of  your  family,  to  which  I  am  obliged,  as  well 
by  duty  to  the  Queen  as  by  the  common  good  of  my 
Country.  The  Queen  takes  all  occasions  to  express  the 
great  esteem  she  has  for  your  Highness,  and  concern 
for  your  interest;  and,  as  a  further  instance  of  her 
Majesty's  desire  on  all  occasions  to  improve  that  good 
correspondence  which  is  so  necessary,  the  Queen  com- 
mands me  to  communicate  to  your  Electoral  Highness 
a  change  she  has  been  obliged  to  make  in  her  Court, 
by  removing  the  Duchess  of  Marlborough.  Last 
night  the  Duke  brought  the  gold  key,  the  ensign  of 
one  of  his  wife''s  places ;  the  Queen  having  indulged 
him  his  choice  to  bring  it  or  have  it  sent  for.  This  is 
so  far  from  hindering  the  Duke  from  continuing  in  his 
post,  that  he  seems  resolved  to  accommodate  himself 
to  the  Queen's  pleasure,  and  go  on  in  her  service. 
The  causes  of  this  lady's  disgrace  have  been  so  public, 
and  of  so  many  years'*  continuance,  that  it  will  be  need- 
less to*trouble  your  Electoral  Highness  on  that  head. 
The  places  will  be  speedily  disposed,  and  the  chiefest 
will  fall  to  the  share  of  the  Duchess  of  Somerset.  I 
shall  think  myself  extremely  happy,  if  any  occasion 
shall  be  ever  offered  me  to  manifest  the  great  vene- 


264  OllIGINAL    LETTERS. 

ration  and  duty  wherewith  I  am,  may  it  please  your 
Electoral  Highness, 

Your  Highness"'s  most  humble,  most 

dutiful,  and  most  obedient  servant, 

no.  HARLEY. 

Jan.|-|,17i|. 


LETTER  CCCCVIII. 

The  Duke  of  Buckingham  to  the  Elector  of  Hanover, 
Offers  his  humble  and  zealous  service. 

[MS.  DONAT.  4007.  fol.  132.] 


Windsor,  Oct.  9*''.  1711. 
Sib, 
Not  having  received  the  honour  of  any  commands 
from  your  Electoral  Highness  by  Mons^.  Bothemar, 
I  have  hitherto  restrained  myself  from  repeating  the 
Offers  of  that  humble  and  zealous  service  which  I  am 
sure  your  Electoral  Highness  can  have  no  possible 
cause  to  doubt  of,  after  my  constant  endeavours  to 
show  it  on  all  occasions.  But  this  late  transaction  be- 
tween Britain  and  France,  of  which  the  Earl  of  Rivers 
is  sent  to  give  you  exact  information,  has  given  occa- 
sion, not  only  for  the  Queen  herself,  but  for  her 
Ministers  also  to  show  their  timely  care  and  uttermost 


ORIGINAL  LETTP2RS.  265 

concern  for  the  Succession  in  your  illustrious  line ;  and 
having  myself  not  only  an  affectionate  zeal,  but  even 
a  jealous  regard  to  the  things  relating  to  that  matter, 
I  can  with  all  assurance  give  your  Electoral  Highness 
the  satisfaction  of  my  being  a  witness  that  no  part  of 
those  overtures  was  so  much  at  the  heart  of  every  body 
employed  about  it,  as  that  which  indeed  deserved  it 
most,  the  Protestant  Succession ;  and  therefore  what- 
ever happy  occasion  I  had,  some  few  years  ago,  to  be  a 
little  remarkable  in  my  concern  for  her  Royal  High- 
ness your  Mother,  I  could  not  at  this  time,  with  all  my 
zeal,  outdo  the  faithful  service  which  every  Lord  in- 
trusted has  shown  in  this  Affair.     The  business  of  the 
Medal  also  in  Scotland,  if  not  immediately  prosecuted 
through  the  remissness  of  some  who  have  been  dis- 
placed there  for  that    failing,  is  now  to  be  strictly 
punished,  as  I  am  sure  it  ought  to  have  been  at  first. 
I  had  some  particular  reason  not  to  put  this  Letter 
into  the  hands  of  my  Lord  Rivers,  and  hope  you  will 
pardon  this  liberty  in 

Your  Electoral  Highness*'s  most  humble, 
and  most  obedient  servant, 

BUCKINGHAM  P. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCCIX. 


Mr.  Harley,  viozv  Earl  of  Oxford^  to  the  Elector  of 
Hanover.    The  Queen^s  care  of  the  Elector'' s  interest. 

[ms.  donat.  4107.  art.  129.] 


May  it  please  your  Highness, 
The  Queen  sending  Earl  Rivers  to  communicate  to 
your  Electoral  Highness  an  affair  of  great  consequence, 
I  presume  to  desire  leave  at  the  same  time  to  make 
your  Highness  a  tender  of  my  most  humble  duty. 
My  Lord  will  give  your  Electoral  Highness  the  detail 
of  what  has  passed  here  with  relation  to  a  Peace,  and 
the  care  her  Majesty  has  taken  in  the  first  place  of  the 
interest  of  your  Highness  and  your  Family.  This  the 
Queen  has  done  without  any  reciprocal  obligation  or 
promise  from  her  Majesty  to  France,  notwithstanding 
the  great  need  we  have  of  peace,  and  that  the  nation 
is  exhausted ;  yet  the  Queen  would  not  act  without 
the  concurrence  of  all  her  Allies ;  and  therefore  your 
Highness  will  observe  that  all  steps  taken  here  are 
but  provisional :  though  it  would  have  been  no  difficult 
matter  to  have  adjusted  the  interest  of  the  several 
Allies,  but  that  the  Queen  was  resolved  to  give  none 
of  them  any  cause  of  jealousy,  but  leave  each  State  to 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  267 

make  their  own  demands  at  the  general  Treaty,  which 
the  Queen  proposes  to  be  opened  immediately.  I  did 
myself  the  honour  to  acquaint  your  Electoral  Highness 
with  the  Queen's  compliance  to  your  desires  of  having 
some  of  your  cavalry  return  this  Winter  for  a  parti- 
cular occasion ;  and  I  shall  ever  esteem  it  the  greatest 
felicity  of  my  life  when  I  have  any  opportunity  to  show 
the  inviolable  attachment  and  great  veneration  where- 
with I  am, 

May  it  please  your  Electoral  Highness, 
Your  Highness's  most  dutiful,  most 

humble,  and  most  obedient  servant, 

OXFORD. 

Oct.  the  ^,  1711. 


LETTER  CCCCX. 


Tlie  Princess  Caroline,  afterwards  Queen  of  England, 
to  Queen  Anne, 

[ms.  DONAT.  BEIT.   MU8.  4903.  art.  47.   Orig.  ENTIBELY   IX  THE 

princess's  hand.] 


Madame, 

J'ay  re9eu  avec  un  tres  profond  respect  la  Lettre 

done  il  a  plus  a  votre  Majeste  de  m'honnorer  par  le 

S'.  Harlais,  on  ne  peu  estre  plus  reconnoissonte  que  je 

la  suis,  Madame,  pour  toute  les  graces  que  votre  Ma- 


^68  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

jeste  m'y  temoigne  la,  supliant  tres  humblement  de  me 
les  conserver  comme  aunepersonnequienconnois  plaine- 
ment  le  prys,et  qui  est  avec  une  tres  parfaite  soumission, 
Madame, 

de  votre  Majeste 

La  tres  humble  et 

tres  obeissante  servante, 

CAROLINE. 

Hanw.  le  29  Sep.  1712. 


LETTER  CCCCXI. 

Secretary  Bromley  to  the  Princess  Sophia. 
[ms.  donat.  4107.  art.  136.] 


Madam, 
Since  my  Son  goes  with  Mr.  Harley  to  Hanover 
I  beg  your  Highness  will  permit  me  to  do  myself  the 
honour  to  assure  you   of  my   sincere  and  unfeigned 
regards  for  your  interests  and  those  of  your  Serene 
Family,  on  which  the  future  happiness  of  my  country 
depends.     This  opinion  will  always  engage  me  to  be, 
with  the  most  profound  respect. 
Madam, 
Your  Highnesses  most  obedient  and 
most  humble  servant, 

W.  BROMLEY. 

Whitehall,  Feb.  12,  17i|. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  269 


LETTER  CCCCXII. 

Tfie  Earl  of  Oxford  to  Baron  Wassenaur  Duyven- 
worde.  Against  any  branch  of  the  Elector''s  For- 
mily  coming  over  without  the  Queen''s  consent. 

[MS.  SLOAN.  4107.  fol.  161.] 


April  1^,  1714. 
Right  Honourable, 

This  last  past  I  received  the  honour  of  your  Letter 
of  the  17th  of  April,  for  which  be  pleased  to  accept 
my  most  humble  thanks. 

I  send  you  this  Letter  by  an  express  messenger,  who 
is  going  to  Mr.  Harley  with  my  Letters  to  Hanover ; 
and  if  you  please,  he  will  carry  any  thing  you  think 
fit  to  write.  But  that  I  may  answer  that  openness, 
wherewith  you  so  obligingly  treat  me,  I  do  in  the  most 
solemn  manner  assure  you,  that  next  to  the  Queen,  I 
am  entirely  and  unalterably  devoted  to  the  interest  of 
his  Electoral  Highness  of  Hanover.  This  is  not  only 
from  the  conscience  of  my  oaths,  but  out  of  profound 
respect  tb  the  Elector's  great  virtues.  I  may  without 
vanity  say,  that  I  had  the  greatest  hand  in  settling  the 
succession.  I  have  ever  preserved  the  same  opinion, 
and  it  is  owing  to  the  declarations  the  Queen  has  so 
often  made  in  their  favour  that  the  generality  of  the 


270  ORIGINAL   LETTERS. 

people  are  come  to  be  for  that  Serene  House.  I  am 
sure  that  Lady  Masham,  the  Queen's  favourite,  is  en- 
tirely for  their  Succession.  I  am  also  sure  that  the 
Queen  is  so ;  and  you  may  do  me  the  justice  to  assure 
his  Electoral  Highness,  that  I  am  ready  to  give  him 
all  the  proofs  of  my  attachment  to  his  interests  and  to 
set  in  a  true  light  the  state  of  this  Country ;  for  it  will 
be  very  unfortunate  for  so  great  a  Prince  to  be  only 
Prince  over  a  party,  which  can  never  last  long  in 
England ;  and  let  me  in  confidence  tell  you,  Sir,  that 
there  is  but  one  thing  can  be  any  way  of  prejudice  to 
the  Succession  in  that  family,  and  that  is  the  endea- 
vour to  bring  them,  or  any  of  them,  over  without  the 
Queen's  consent.  Two  Courts  in  this  Country  have 
been  so  fatal,  and  the  factions  are  so  high,  that  it  must 
be  very  mischievous  both  to  the  Queen  and  to  that 
Serene  House,  to  have  any  such  thing  enterprised,  that 
may  create  a  difference  between  the  Queen  and  that 
family,  that  will  change  the  dispute  to  the  Crown  and 
the  Successor ;  whereas  now  it  is  between  the  House  of 
Hanover  and  the  Popish  Pretender. 

I  will  add  but  this  one  word,  that  I  will  assure  you, 
that  upon  any  advances  of  kindness  from  the  House  of 
Hanover,  I  will  pawn  my  life  for  it,  they  shall  receive 
most  essential  proofs  of  the  Queen's  friendship ;  and 
I  am  sure  that  is  the  best  confirmation  of  their  Suc- 
cession. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  271 

Be  pleased  to  accept  my  most  hearty  thanks,  and  to 
believe  me  to  be,  with  the  greatest  respect. 
Right  Honourable, 
Your  most  humble  and  most  obedient 
servant, 

OXFORD. 


LETTER  CCCCXIII. 

Archbishop  Dawes  to  the  Princess  Sophia,.  The  zeal 
of  himself  and  the  Clergy  for  the  Protestant  suc- 
cession. 

[MS.  SLOAN.  4107.  foi.  164] 


Madam, 
I  WAXT  words  to  express  my  deep  sense  of  the  great 
honour  which  your  Royal  Highness  has  done  me  in 
vouchsafing  to  take  notice  of,  and  kindly  accept,  my 
poor  endeavours  to  serve  your  illustrious  House,  and 
in  that  the  Protestant  interest  in  general,  and  our  own 
happy  Constitution  in  Church  and  State  in  particular. 
It  is  so  much  both  my  duty  and  my  interest  to  do  all 
that  I  am  able  for  this  end,  that  I  should  be  unpar- 
donable if  I  did  it  not.  I  hope  your  Royal  Highness 
will  every  day  more  and  more  have  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing,  not  only  myself,  but  the  whole  body  of  our 
clergy  are  faithful  and  zealous  as  becomes  us  in  this 
respect,  and  that  the  same  good  spirit  is  still  amongst 


272  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

US,  which  SO  laudably  and,  through  the  blessing  of 
God,  successfully  opposed  and  got  the  better  of  the 
attempts  of  France  and  Popery  in  King  James's  reign. 
Madam,  I  daily  and  most  ardently  pray  to  God  for 
the  health,  long  life,  and  prosperity  of  yourself  and 
every  branch  of  your  illustrious  family ;  and  particu- 
larly that  he  would  guard  and  maintain  your  right  of 
succeeding  to  the  Crown  of  these  Realms,  as  now  by 
law  established. 

I  am,  with  the  most  profound  duty  and  respect. 
Madam, 
Your  Royal  Highnesses  most  obedient 
and  most  faithful  servant, 

W.  EBOR. 

London,  May  the 
4th,  1714. 


LETTER  CCCCXIV. 

Lord  Chancellor  Harcourt  to  Baron  Schutz.     The 
Writ  of  Siimmons  Jbr  the  Duke  of  Cambridge. 

[MS.  LANSD.  1226.  fol.  25y.  Orig.'[ 


Sir, 
When  you  came  to  me  yesterday  and  told  me  that 
by  order  of  the  Princess  Sophia  you  demanded  a  Writ 
of  Summons  for  the  Duke  of  Cambridge,  I  let  you 


OniGTXAL    LF.TTF.RS,  273 

know  that  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  acquaint  Her 
Majesty  therewith. 

I  have  accordingly  laid  this  matter  before  the  Queen, 
who  was  pleased  to  say,  that  not  having  received  the 
least  intimation  of  this  demand  from  you,  or  in  any 
other  manner  whatsoever  from  the  Court  of  Hanover, 
she  could  hardly  persuade  herself  that  you  acted  by 
direction  from  thence ;  that  she  therefore  did  not  think 
fit  to  give  any  other  answer  than  this,  that  I  should 
do  what  the  law  required. 

The  Writ  for  the  Duke  of  Cambridge  was  sealed  of 
course,  when  the  Writs  of  Summons  to  all  the  other 
Peers  were  sealed,  and  lies  ready  to  be  delivered  to 
you  whenever  you  call  for  it.     I  am. 

Sir, 
Your  most  humble  servant, 

HARCOURT,  C. 


LETTER  CCCCXV. 

TJie  Earl  of  Oxford  to  the  Elector  of  Hanover^  ajier 
."  the  accident  respecting  the  Writ.'''' 

[m8.  DOKat.  4107.  foL  142.  Orig.] 


May  it  please  your  Royal  Highness, 
Though  I  expect  Mr.  Harley  every  moment  in  re- 

VOL.  IV.  SER.  2.  T 


^4  OKIGINAL    LETTERS. 

turn  from  your  Court,  and  thereby  shall  have  another 
opportunity  of  doing  myself  the  honour  to  present  your 
Royal  Highness  with  my  most  humble  duty  and  the 
assurance  of  my  utmost  service,  yet  I  profit  of  this 
occasion  of  the  Queen's  messengers  attending  your 
Royal  Highness  with  her  Majesty's  letter,  to  lay  my- 
self at  your  feet.    I  have  no  enemy  who  knows  me,  that 
is  not  just  enough  to  allow  me  to  be  inviolably  attached 
to  your  succession  ;  nothing  comes  in  competition  with 
that,  because  I  know  I  please  the  Queen  when  I  am 
zealous  for  the  service  of  your  Serene  House.    I  hope 
therefore  I  shall  find  credit  with  your  Royal  Highness 
when  I  humbly  lay  my  sincere  opinion  before  you.     I 
am  sure  the  Queen  is  most  hearty  for  your  succession  ; 
and  if  there  be  any  thing  which  may  render  it  more 
secure  which  is  consistent  with  Her  Majesty's  safety, 
it  will  be  accomplished.    It  is  not  the  eager  desires  of 
some,  or  what  flows  from  the  advice  of  any  whose  dis- 
contents (perhaps)  animate  their  zeal,  can  balance  the 
security  you  have  in  the  Queen's  friendship,  and  the 
dutiful  affection  of  all  her  faithful  subjects ;  for  as  I 
am  sure  your  Royal  Highness's  great  wisdom  would 
not  choose  to  rule  by  a  party,  so  you  will  not  let  their 
narrow  measures  be  the  standard  of  your  Government. 
I  doubt  not  but  this  accident  which  hath  happened 
about  the  Writ,  may  be  improved  to  increase  the  most 
perfect  friendship  between  the  Queen  and  your  Serene 
Family.     I  shall  study  to  do  every  thing  which  may 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS.  275 

<lemoflstrate  the  profound  veneration  and  respect  where- 
with I  am, 

May  it  please  your  Royal  Highness, 

your  Royal  Highness''s  most  dutiful, 

most  humble,  and  most  obedient  servant, 

OXFORD. 

May -!§,  1714 


LETTER  CCCCXVI. 


T]ie  Elector  of  Hanover  to  Queen  Anne  annmmcing 
the  loss  of  his  Mother. 

(MS.  DONAT.  4903.  aH.  56.   Orig.] 


Madame, 
J' AY  rc9eu  la  lettre  du  ||  de  May  dont  il  a  plu  A 
V?  Maj'5  de  m*honorer.  Mais  ayant  eu  le  malheur 
deux  jours  apres  sa  reception  de  perdre  Madame 
TElectricc  ma  Mere,  par  une  mort  subite,  qui  m'a 
rempli  d'affliction,  et  que  je  ne  manqueray  pas  dc 
notifier  a  V'.*  Maj'f  d'une  maniere  conforme  au  re- 
spect que  je  luy  dois,  je  me  trouve  oblig^  par  une  si 
'uste  douleur  de  differer  de  quelques  jours  a  repondre 
au  contenu  de  la  lettre  de  V?  Maj*^.  Je  la  prie 
d'etre  persuad^e  du  soin  et  de  I'empressement  que  je 

T  2 


9176  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

apporteray  toujours  a  cultiver  Thonneur  de  ses  bonnes 

graces,  et  du  respect  avec  le  quel  je  suis, 

Madame, 

de  votre  Majeste  le  tres  humble 

et  tres  obeissent  serviteur, 

GEORGE  LOUIS,  Elccteur. 
Herrenhausen, 

lellJuin,  1714. 

A  sa  M?  la  Reine  de  la 
Gr.  Bretagne. 


LETTER  CCCCXVII. 


The  Elector  of  Hanover  to  the  Lord  Treasurer  Ox- 
Jbrd  upon  the  same. 

[ms.  lansd.  1236.  fol.  285.  Orig.] 


Herrenhausen,  le  11  Juin  1714. 
My  Lord, 
J' AY  re^eu  le  6  de  ce  Mois  vostre  Lettre  du  80  de 
May,  et  ayant  perdu,  le  8,  Madame  TElectrice  ma  mere 
par  une  mort  impreveue,  qui  m'a  rerapli  d'une  tres 
grande  affliction.  Je  ne  suis  pas  encore  en  estat  de 
repondre  ^  son  contenu.  Je  le  feray  au  premier  jour, 
et  j'auray  Thonneur  de  notifier  ce  triste  evenement  a  sa 
Majeste  d'une  maniere  conforme  au  respect  que  je  luy 


ORIGINAL    LETTER^.  277 

dois.  Je  Vous  prie  de  vouloir  employer  votre  grand 
credit  aupres  d'Elle,  pour  qu'EUe  me  conserve  Phon- 
neur  de  ses  bonnes  graces,  et  d^etre  persuade  que  je 
suis  tres  sincerement. 

Milord, 
Vostre  tres  affection  e 

GEORGE    LOUIS,    ElectCUV. 

A  my  Lord  Grand  Thresorier. 


LETTER  CCCCXVIII. 

The  Prince  Elector  to  Queen  Anne :  to  be  restored  to 
favour. 

[ms.  donat.  4903.  art.  5"}.   Orig.   entirely   in   the  prince's 

HAND-WRITING.]  » 


Madame, 
C'est  avec  beaucoup  de  douleur  que  j''ai  remarque 
par  la  Lettre  du  30  de  May  dont  votre  Majeste  m'a 
honore,  qu''on  a  travaille  a  me  rendre  suspect  aupres 
d"'elle,  et  a  me  representer  comme  capable  d'exciter  ^es 
troubles,  etdVncouragerdes  factions  dans  ses  Royaumes. 
Comme  ce  sont  la  des  desseins  dont  ie  me  pardonne- 
rois  pas  meme  la  pensee,  ie  souhaiterois  ardemment 

»  The  Paper  on  which  tliis  Letter  ie  written  is  edged  with  black. 


^8  ORIGINAL    LETTEllS. 

d'etre  a  portee  d'en  pouvoir  d6sabuser  voire  Majeste 
et  d'etre  connu  d'elle  de  plus  pr6s.  Je  suis  persuade, 
que  ma  conduite  I'engageroit  bientot  a  me  rendre  jus- 
tice, et  a  m'accorder  Fhonneur  de  ses  bonnes  graces, 
que  ie  rechercherai  toujours  avec  le  dernier  empresse- 
ment,  etant  avec  beaucoup  de  respect, 

Madame, 
de  votre  Majeste, 
le  tres  humble,  et  trcs  obeissant  serviteur, 

GEORGE    AUGUSTE,    Pr.  EL 

Hannover,  ce 
15Juin,  1714. 


LETTER  CCCCXIX. 


The  Elector  of  Hanover  to  the  Lord  Treasurer  Oocford, 
upon  the  necessity  Jbr  the  presence  of  some  Prince  lyf 
his  House  in  Engla/ndy  to  secure  the  Queen  and  her 
Dominions  against  the  designs  of  the  Pretender. 

[MS.  LANSD.  1236.  foL  287.  Orig.'] 

*^*  Lord  Oxford  resigned  his  staff  of  Lord  High  Treasurer  of  Great 
Britain  into  the  Queen's  hands,  at  Kensington,  July  the  27"".  1714 ;  she 
dying  upon  the  P',  of  August  following. 

Upon  the  King's  arrival  at  Greenwich,  Lord  Oxford  went  there  and 
kissed  his  Majesty's  hand,  but  no  intercourse  in  any  other  respect  took 
place. 

In  Administration  liis  conduct  had  been  equivocal.     He  had  corrc. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  279 

sponded  at  the  same  time  with  the  dethroned  family,  and  with  the  House 
of  Hanover.     As  a  tory  also  he  was  unacceptable. 

On  June  10'-''.  1715,  the  House  of  Commons  impeached  Lord  Oxford 
of  high  treason ;  and  on  July  IG"*.  he  was  committed  to  the  Tower  by 
the  House  of  Lords,  where  he  suflFcred  confinement  till  July  1''.  1717» 
when,  after  a  public  trial  he  was  acquitted  by  his  Peers.  He  now  with- 
drew from  public  life,  devoting  himself  chiefly  to  the  accumulation  of 
those  literary  treasures,  from  the  manuscript  portion  of  which  so  much 
has  been  drawn  for  these  Volumes.     He  died  May  the  21".  1724. 


Hannover,  le  15  de  Juin,  1714. 
Mylord, 
J'ay  vu  avec  beaucoup  de  plaisir,  dans  vostre  Lettre 
du  30  de  May,  les  nouvelles  assurences  que  vous  me 
donnez  de  vostre  zele  pour  la  succession  Protestante, 
et  de  vostre  attachement  pour  mes  interets.  Ces  bons 
sentiments  n'ont  jamais  este  plus  necessaires  qu'^  pre- 
sent, puisqu'il  s'agit  de  dissiper  les  ombrages  qu^on 
tache  d''inspirer  contre  moy  ct  centre  ma  Maison,  en 
nous  imputant  des  dessins  prejudiciables  a  Tauthorite 
de  la  Reyne ;  et  quoy  que  je  me  flatte  que  la  Lettre 
que  je  me  donne  I'honneur  d''ecrire  a  sa  Majeste 
jx)ura  contriblier  a  lui  faire  connoistre  la  sincerite  de 
mes  intentions,  vous  m''obligerez  infiniment  Mylord, 
si  vous  voulez  bien  y  joindre  vos  bons  offices.  Vous 
aurez  vfi  par  le  Memoire  que  j'ay  fait  delivrer  icy  a 
vostre  Parent  combien  je  souhaite  de  concerter  avec  la 
Reyne  tout  ce  qui  paroist  estre  encore  necessaire  pour 
raff'ermissement  de  la  Succession  Protestante  ;  et  vous 


280 


OJlIc;iNAL    LETTERS. 


ignorez  pas  que  plusieurs  personnes  distinguees  de  run 
et  de  Tautre  Party  qui  ont  cette  succession  fort  en  coeur, 
et  qui  sont  sujets  fidelles  et  serviteurs  zeles  de  la  Reyne, 
ont  juge  que  la  presence  d'un  des  Princes  de  ma  Mai- 
son  seroit  le  moyen  le  plus  efficace  pour  mettre  en 
seurete  la  Personne  et  les  Royaumes  de  sa  Majeste 
contre  les  desseins  d'un  Pretendant,  qui  se  tient  tou- 
jours  a  port^e  malgre  les  instances  de  la  Reyne,  et  qui 
a  lieu  de  compter  sur  un  puissant  secours  estranger.  II 
paroist  en  effect  Mylord,  que  quand  mesme  la  Nation 
pouroit  estre  en  seurete  contre  le  Pretendant  pendant 
la  vie  de  Sa  Majeste,  il  n'en  seroit  pas  de  mesme  en 
cas  qu'il  plust  k  Dieu  d'affliger  la  Grand  Bretagne  en 
retirant  a  luy  une  Reine,  qui  la  gouverne  avec  tant  de 
gloire,  et  qu'en  ce  dernier  cas  la  presence  d'un  Prince 
de  la  ligne  Protestante  ne  seroit  pas  de  peu  d'utilite 
pour  empecher  les  desordres  du  dedans,  et  les  invasions 
du  dehors.  Si  vous  savez  quelque  autre  moyen  de 
procurer  k  la  Succession  une  seurete  equivallente,  vous 
m'obligerez  fort  de  m'en  faire  part.  Vous  pouvez  vous 
en  ouvrir  au  Ministre  de  confiance  que  j''envoye  k  sa 
Majeste,  et  qui  vous  rendre  cette  Lettre,  et  comme  vous 
avez  est6  un  des  premiers  promoteurs  de  la  Succession 
Protestante,  et  que  vous  avez  travaille  en  tant  d'occa- 
sions  pour  Taffermir,  je  vous  prie  de  continlier  a  le 
faire  dans  celle  cy,  et  d'estre  persuade  que  vous  trou- 
verez  en  nu)y  toute  la  reconnoissancc  que  vous  en  poU' 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS.  281 

vez  attendre,  et  que  je  seray  fort  aise  de  me  voir  en 
estat  de  vous  en  donner  des  marques,  estant  tres  sin- 
cerement 

Milord, 

Vostre  tres  affectione, 

GEORGE  LOUIS,  Electeur. 


A  SHORT  time  previous  to  the  writing  of  this  Letter  a  Memorial  at- 
tested  by  the  Seals  of  the  Princess  Sophia  and  the  Elector,  dated  May  7"'' 
1714,  had  been  presented  to  iVI^  Harley  at  Hanover.  It  dwelt  upon  the 
same  topics  with  those  which  are  here  pressed  by  the  Elector  alone,  making 
a  request  also  that  steps  should  be  taken  to  drive  the  Pretender  from  the 
Court  of  Lorraine  to  Italy.  "  C'cst  dans  cctte  confience  que  L.  A.  E'«». 
prenens  la  liberte  de  representer  a  S.  Ma'«.  la  necessite  qu'il  y  a  d'obliger 
le  Pretendant  a  se  rctirer  en  Italic,  et  le  danger  qui  pourroit  resueter  de 
son  plus  long  sejour  en  Lorraine  tant  aux  R'oyaumes  de  S.  M"'.  qu'a  sa 
Personne  Royale  et  a  la  Succession  Protestante." 

This  last  sentence  seems  to  fix  tlie  date  of  one  of  the  best  Songs 
written  in  the  Pretender's  favor,  and  which  it  is  believed  has  never  before 
appeared  in  Print.  The  Copy  here  given  is  from  the  Lansdowne  MS.. 
852.  p.  370. 

From  Queen  Anne's  Proclamation  of  June  21".  1714,  her  Majesty's 
attempt  to  remove  the  Pretender  from  Lorraine  appears  to  have  been 
unsuccessful. 

A  SONG. 

Bring  in  the  Bowl,  I  '11  toast  a  Health 
To  one  that  has  neither  land  nor  wealth  : 
The  bonniest  lad  you  ever  saw 
Is  over  the  hills  and  far  awaw : 
Over  the  hills,  and  over  the  dales : 
No  lasting  Peace  till  he  prevails. 
.    Pull  up  my  lads  with  a  loud  Huzza, 
A  Health  to  him  that 's  far  awaw. 

By  France,  by  Rome,  likewise  by  Spain, 
By  all  forsook  but  Duke  Lorrain  ; 
The  next  remove  appears  most  plain 
Will  be  to  bring  him  back  again. 


^82  OllIGIxVAL    LETTEliS. 

Over  the  hills  and  far  awaw, 
Over  the  hills  and  far  awaw, 
The  bonniest  lad  you  ever  saw 
Is  over  the  hills  and  far  awaw. 

He  knew  no  harm,  he  knew  no  guilt, 
No  laws  had  broke,  no  blood  had  spilt ; 
If  rogues  his  Father  did  betray, 
What 's  that  to  him  that 's  far  away. 
Over  the  hills  and  far  awaw, 
Beyond  those  hills  and  far  awaw 
The  wind  may  change  and  fairly  blaw, 
And  blaw  him  back  that 's  blown  awaw. 


Amongst  Sir  Hans  Sloane's  Manuscripts,  as  well  as  in  the  Library 
of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries,  copies  are  preserved  of  several  interesting 
Letters  from  Dr.  Smith,  one  of  Queen  Anne's  Physicians,  to  the  Duke 
and  Duchess  of  Shrewsbury,  relating  to  her  JMajesty's  last  illness.  The 
Queen  had  been  for  some  time  declining  in  health,  about  the  management 
of  which  the  Physicians  appear  to  have  differed,  particularly  in  the  ex- 
hibition to  their  patient  of  the  Jesuit's  bark.  About  two  months  before 
the  Queen's  death,  an  impostliumation  came  in  one  of  her  legs,  upon  the 
subsiding  of  which,  as  Dr.  Smith  considered,  the  gouty  humour  translated 
itself  upon  the  brain.  Anxiety  of  mind  was  the  disposing,  gout  the 
immediate  cause  of  her  Majesty's  demise. 


LETTERS 


09 


THE  REIGN  OF 


KING  GEORGE  THE  FIRST. 


The  nearer  we  approach  to  our  own  times,  the  more  important  do  the 
events  of  History  appear.  We  combine  what  we  read  with  the  traditions 
of  our  fathers,  and  seem  to  half-live  in  the  Century  which  went  before  us. 

With  the  reign  of  GEORGE  the  FIRST  a  milder  sway  began  than 
was  known  under  the  Plantagenets,  the  Tudors,  or  the  Stuarts ;  the  King 
was  wise,  benevolent,  and  merciful.  The  Nation  was  now  harassed  by 
the  animosities  of  the  Ministers ;  who  in  some  instances  were  as  corrupt 
toward  their  Country  as  they  were  implacable  toward  each  other. 

A  remarkable  proof  of  the  finnness  both  of  the  King  and  Prince  in 
this  Reign,  at  an  important  moment,  occurs  in  Letter  CCCCXXVIII. 
"  If  my  Lord  Orford  persist  in  declining  the  Sea-service,"  says  Bishop 
Kcnnett,  '^  the  Prince  himself  wiU  be  Lord  High  Admiral :  and  if  Mr. 
Wall  be  uneasy.  King  George  has  heard  that  King  William  once  under- 
took to  sit  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Treasury  board." 

Ix  the  former  Series,  the  Letters  of  this  Reign  which  concerned  the 
Rebellion  of  1715  were  numerous.  In  the  present  Collection,  those  which 
relate  to  the  King's  expected  arrival,  the  state  of  the  Clergy  in  the  Diocese 
of  Tuam,  the  project  for  invading  England  by  Charles  the  Twelfth  of 
Sweden,  Dr.  Bentley's  conduct  at  Cambridge  when  the  King  attended  the 
Commencement,  the  effects  of  the  South-Sea  year,  the  panic  in  Ireland 
upon  Wood's  Halfpence,  and  the  Duke  of  Wharton's  Letter  from  Spain 
to  extenuate  his  conduct,  claim  the  reader's  chief  notice. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  285 


LETTER  CCCCXX. 


Dr.  White Kennett,  afterwards  Bishop  ofPeterhorcmgh, 
to  Dr.  Samuel  Blackwell.  King  George  the  First 
expected  from  Hanover.  The  Queen's  Interment 
ordered.  Divisions  of  Interest  upon,  and  Applica- 
tions Jor  Church  Preferment. 

[MS.  LANSD.  1013.  fol.  198.  Orig.'] 


Dear  Sir, 

Since  my  last  nothing  of  moment  has  occurred,  but 
what  you  hear  sufficiently  by  all  the  public  papers.  All 
things  are  quiet,  and  all  persons  seem  to  be  under  no 
other  impatience  but  that  of  expecting  the  new  King. 
The  day  of  his  setting  out  from  Hanover  was  fixed  to 
Wednesday  last,  but  advices  since  have  adjourned  it 
sine  die,  upon  occasion  of  interview  with  the  Court  of 
Prussia,  of  advising  some  affairs  with  the  Emperor,  of 
better  ordering  his  Government  and  Family  that  he 
leaves  behind,  and  of  being  himself  a  little  indisposed 
by  eating  too  freely  of  melons. 

Most  agree  in  his  motion  at  the  beginning  of  next 
week,  and  expect  to  hear  of  his  coming  to  the  Hague 
about  the  end  of  it,  and  of  his  arrival  here  the  week 
following. » 

The  Lords  Justices  have  agreed  on  a  form  or  manner 
of  Entry,  of  which  we  know  no  step  but  that  lodgings 

•  The  King  ami  I'rincf  arrived  at  the  H.igue  Sept.  12'k.  n  U. 


S86  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

are  preparing  for  the  King  and  Court  at  Greenwich, 
by  which  it  is  presumed  he  will  come  up  the  river  and 
land  there,  and  after  a  night  or  two  will  go  by  barge 
to  the  Tower,  or  by  land  to  St.  George's  Fields,  and 
so  in  a  very  solemn  procession  through  the  City.*' 

The  Queen's  body  is  to  be  carried  from  Kensington 
this  night  to  the  Prince's  Chamber,  to  be  interred  on 
Tuesday  night,  i'  according  to  an  Order  this  day  pub- 
lished by  the  Earl  Marshal. 

There  is  an  unhappy  division  of  interest  and  appli- 
cations for  the  vacant  See  of  Ely.  The  first  motion 
was  by  the  Lord  Treasurer  for  his  kinsman  the  Bishop 
of  Oxford  :  a  second  by  the  Lord  Not.  for  his  brother 
the  Dean  of  York  :  some  of  the  Regents  (perhaps 
wisely)  for  translating  the  Bishop  of  London  to  that 
richer  See,  and  filling  the  City  with  a  man  more 
agreeable  to  them  and  the  Court :  and,  at  last,  many 
for  Mr.  Hill,  and  he  in  earnest  for  himself,  though  in 
the  habit  and  life  of  a  layman  for  about  thirty  years 
past.  The  Archbishop  is  too  sensible  of  these  contrasts, 
and  complains  of  the  ill  impression  of  them  upon  his 
own  mind :  though  with  submission  (as  one  told  him) 
owing  in  great  measure  to  his  forbearing  to  declare  his 
own  judgment :  for  if  he  had  pleased  to  tell  the  other 
justices  at  first,  that  he  intended  to  recommend  the 
Bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  I  believe  nobody  would  have  set 
up  any  thought  of  competition. 

«  The  »oyal  Entry  from  Greenwich  through  London,  was  on  Sept.  20*. 
I"  Seethe  Solemnization  of  the  Queen's  Interment  atWestminsterj  August tlie  wi>. 
in  the  Gazette. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  287 

There  is  likewise  great  soliciting  for  the  Canonry  of 
Christ  Church  and  Hebrew  Professorship,  vacant  by 
the  death  of  Dr.  Altham.  It  is  said  the  late  Lord 
Treasurer  had  promised  it  to  his  chaplain  Mr.  Simon 
Ockley.  The  Christ  Church  men  are  said  to  be  most 
desirous  of  Dr.  Wells,  and  he  has  sent  up  a  Letter  to 
the  Bishop  of  Lincoln  which  I  know  was  laid  before 
his  Grace  on  Thursday  last,  but,  I  presume,  no  agree- 
able man.  Dr.  Felling,  Chaplain  to  the  Speaker,  would 
have  the  best  title  to  the  Canonry  if  he  understood 
Hebrew.  The  greatest  master  of  that  tongue,  and 
other  Orientals,  is  Mr.  Clavering,  one  of  his  Grace"'s 
chaplains,  lately  by  him  preferred  to  the  Deanery  of 
Bocking,  which  has  made  way  to  Mr.  Ibbetsou  of 
Oriel  to  succeed  him  as  Chaplain  at  Lambeth. 

The  French  King's  rejecting  the  importunities  of 
the  Pretender  is  an  argument  of  his  good  faith  or  great 
necessity.  The  barbarous  dragooning  of  our  merchants 
will  extort  satisfaction,  at  least,  in  a  free  Parliament. 
We  long  to  hear  of  the  fate  of  the  brave  Barcelonians. 
The  last  we  heard  (poor  souls)  was  their  hanging  out 
a  black  flag  with  a  deaths  head  upon  it,  to  signify  by 
that  token  that  they  would  sooner  die  than  surrender. 
We  are  afraid  the  French  will  take  the  ruins  of  that 
City  by  storm,  before  they  can  hear  of  our  good  inten- 
tions to  relieve  them.  If  a  miracle  of  God's  Providence 
preserve  them,  it  may  give  a  new  turn  to  Sicily  and 
the  whole  Kingdom  of  Spain. 

Stock  is  very  high,  and  all  people  in  good  spirit. 


288  ORTGIXAL    LETTERS. 

None  to  all  appearance  more  sanguine  than  thoy  wlio 
would  be  still  called  Tories.  They,  forsooth,  adhered 
to  the  Protestant  Succession.  They  are  most  forward 
to  go  out  and  meet  the  King.  They,  by  their  prin- 
ciples, have  been  always  for  the  Church  and  the 
Crown.  They  are  the  surest  friends  of  the  Preroga- 
tive, and  they,  if  we  believe  them,  are  the  majority  of 
the  Nation,  and  can  command  a  new  Parliament. 

The  pulpits  in  and  about  London  have  not  been  so 
modest  as  one  would  have  expected  at  such  a  juncture. 
It  is  certain  that  Dr.  Wells  has  preached  ever  since 
the  demise  with  a  double  entendre^  and  with  an  eye 
directly  on  another  King.  Dr.  Sach.'"^  has  vehemently 
reflected  on  the  Duke  of  Marlborough's  public  entry, 
and  called  it  an  unparalleled  insolence,  and  a  vile 
trampling  upon  royal  ashes,  &c.  Others  of  better  figure 
have  so  bemoaned  the  Queen  as  if  Monarchy  and  the 
Church  had  died  with  her.  Nay,  some  have  chal- 
lenged the  faction  (as  they  call  them)  to  tell  where  is 
the  Pretender,  or  where  is  the  danger  of  him !  as  if 
his  not  coming  now  were  an  argument  that  he  never 
meant  it. 

This  day  the  Lord  Chancellor  read  one  Speech  in 
the  name  of  the  Regents,  and  the  Speaker  made  an- 
other very  good  one  in  the  name  of  the  Commons  upon 
the  money  bill  for  the  Civil  List,  and  so  both  Houses 
adjourned  to,  I  think,  this  day  se'nnight. 

It  is  supposed  the  King  will  be  inclined  to  commit 

»  Sacheverell. 


oniGIKAL  LETTERS.  •  289 

ecclesiastical  Preferments  to  a  Commission  of  Arch- 
bishops and  Bishops,  to  deliver  himself  from  unrea- 
sonable importunities  of  that  kind.  My  own  concern, 
I  think,  will  be  to  contract  myself  to  a  more  private  life, 
being  abundantly  satisfied  that  our  public  Affairs  are 
upon  a  better  bottom,  and  the  Church  and  Nation  more 
safe  and  flourishing,  and  hopes  of  a  better  balance  of 
power  in  Europe  and  a  better  regard  to  the  Pro- 
testant interest  abroad.  I  pray  God  grant  it. 
Your  very  affectionate  friend, 

WH.  KENNETT. 

Aug.  21,  1714. 

These 
To  the  Reverend  Mr.  Samuel  Black- 
well,   B.  D.   Rector  of  Brampton,  in 
Northamptonshire,  near  Harborough. 


LETTER  CCCCXXI. 


Archbishop  King  to  Archbishop  Wake.  The  Prince 
of  Wales,  afterwards  King  George  II''.  chosen 
Chancellor  of  the  University  of  Dublin. 

[mS.  DONAT.  BRIT.   MUS.  fill?.  ?•  2.] 


Dublin,  Feb.  16^1'.  1715. 
May  it  please  your  Grace, 
I  SHOULD  have  congratulated  the  Church  and  your 
VOL.  IV.    SER.  2.  u 


290  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

Grace  on  your  Trantslation  to  the  See  of  Canterbury, 
but  a  severe  fit  of  the  gout,  rheumatism,  and  cholic 
has  disabled  me  near  four  months  from  writing. 


This  is  only  to  acquaint  your  Grace  that  the  Uni- 
versity here  are  come  to  a  very  good  temper,  and,  as  an 
instance  of  it,  they  have  this  day  unanimously  elected 
his  Highness  the  Prince  for  their  Chancellor;  which 
is  not  a  matter  of  mere  form,  but  of  great  influence, 
and  gives  him  a  very  great  power  over  them. 

I  must  entreat  your  Grace's  favour  in  their  behalf, 
and  that  you  would  use  your  interest  with  his  High- 
ness to  take  this  in  good  part,  and  prevail  with  him  to 
receive  them  into  his  favour  and  protection. 

The  University  intend  to  send  it  over  by  some  of 
their  own  Body  in  the  most  respectful  manner,  as  soon 
as  the  Instrument  is  prepared.^ 

This  had  been  done  sooner,  but  could  not  well,  by 
reason  of  the  absence  of  two  of  the  Fellows  that  were 
in  England,  and  came  over  purposely  to  expedite  the 
matter. 

I  hope  this  will  have  a  good  effect  on  the  Church 
here  and  whole  Kingdom.  I  add  no  more  at  present 
but  my  most  hearty  prayer  for  your  Grace's  health  and 


»  The  Provost  and  Dr.  Howard,  one  of  the  senior  Fellows,  were  subsequently  sent 
by  their  Body  to  pretest  the  Instnnnent  of  Election  to  the  Princew 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS,  291 

success  in  your  great  charge  in  which  God  hath  placed 
you,  and  that  I  am,  with  the  utmost  respect, 
My  Lord, 
Your  Grace's  most  humble  servant, 

WILL.  DUBLIN. 


LETTER  CCCCXXIL 

Archbishop  King  to  Archbishop  Wdke^  after  the  death 
of  the  Archbishop  ofTuam.  State  of  the  Clergy  in 
his  Diocese.     The  "  Quarta  pars  Eptscopalis."" 

[ms.  donat.  BRIT.  MU8.  6117.  page  5.] 


Dublin,  March  29'^  1716. 
May  it  please  your  Grace, 
Though  I  am  disabled  by  a  return  of  the  gout  in 
my  right  hand,  yet  I  rather  choose  to  make  use  of  an- 
other's, than  omit  acquainting  your  Grace  with  what  I 
think  to  be  of  moment  to  the  Church.  It  has  pleased 
God  to  make  the  Archbishoprick  of  Tuam  vacant,  by 
removing  out  of  this  world  Dr.  Vesey  the  Archbishop 
thereof,  who  died  yesterday  morning.  The  state  of 
that  Diocese  is  very  lamentable,  there  not  being  a  score 
of  beneficed  Clergymen  in  it.  Several  of  them  are 
non-resident,  and  all  of  them  very  ill  provided ;  which 

u  2 


292  OKTGTXAL    LETTERS. 

proceeds  from  three  causes.  The  first  of  which  is 
Impropriations.  The  second  is  want  of  a  legal  settle- 
ment  of  the  tithes  and  other  dues  of  the  Clergy. 
Before  the  Reformation  they  had  a  certain  portion  out 
of  every  thing  which  the  people  used  for  the  support 
or  conveniency  of  life ;  as  for  example,  a  gallon  out  of 
every  brewing  of  drink,  and  so  on  other  occasions ;  and 
for  every  such  offering  they  had  a  peculiar  name ;  and 
these  continued  to  be  demanded  and  exacted,  in  a  great 
measure,  till  the  Restoration  of  the  Royal  Family. 
But  in  the  18  ^^  year  of  the  reign  of  King  Charles  the 
Second,  they  were  all  taken  away  by  act  of  parlia- 
ment under  the  notion  of  being  barbarous  customs, 
and  an  equivalent  promised  the  Clergy  for  them ;  but 
that  equivalent  was  never  yet  given  them  ;  nor  do  they 
pay  tithe  of  any  thing  but  grain  and  wool,  and  in 
some  places  of  hay.  Now  that  country  being  most  of  it 
a  grazing  country,  and  stocked  with  black  cattle,  it 
yields  a  clergyman  but  a  small  pittance.  The  third 
reason  of  the  Clergy''s  poverty  in  that  Diocese  proceeds 
from  what  they  call  Quarta  Pais  Episcopalis,  by 
which  the  Bishop  has  the  fourth  part  of  all  the  tithes 
in  roost  parishes.  The  Impropriator  then  having  in 
most  places  one  half,  and  the  Bishop  one  fourth,  your 
Grace  may  easily  imagine  in  what  a  miserable  condition 
the  Clergy  must  be,  that  have  but  a  fourth  part  of  the 
tithes,  and  the  tithes  so  uncertain. 

I  do  find  that  in  the  North  of  Ireland  the  Bishops 


ORIGINAL    LETTEllS.  293 

had  a  third  part,  the  Clergy  a  third,  aiid  certain  Lay 
Rectors  or  Farmers  (called)  another  third  part :  but, 
on  the  forfeiture  of  Tyrone,  King  James  the  First,  in 
the  six  Counties  escheated  by  that  rebellion  to  the 
Crown,  gave  the  forfeited  tithes  to  the  clergy  and  the 
forfeited  fee-farms  of  land  to  the  Bishops,  in  lieu  of  the 
tithes,  and  likewise  settled  a  Tithing  Table,  accord- 
ing to  which  tithes  are  paid  to  this  day :  and  both 
Bishops  and  Clergy  are  well  provided  for  in  those 
counties. 

But  in  Connaught  things  stood  upon  the  old  foot 
till  the  time  that  the  Earl  of  Strafford  w.as  chief  Go- 
vernor of  Ireland,  who  began  to  look  into  the  state  of 
the  Church  there,  and  found  that  the  bishops  had  made 
away  their  lands  in  fee-farms ;  and  a  very  small  pit- 
tance was  left  to  maintain  their  successors.  The  Arch- 
bishoprick  of  Tuam  was  reduced  to  dC'lGO  per  annum. 
But  upon  farther  inspection  into  the  fee-farms,  it  was 
found  that  many  of  them  were  forfeited,  or  the  pro- 
prietors'' title  to  them  defective  in  law  ;  upon  which  the 
fee-farms  were  seized,  and  restored  to  their  respective 
Sees,  upon  condition  that  the  Bishops  should  give  up 
the  Quarta  Pars  of  the  tithes  to  the  Clergy.  This 
was  an  advantageous  change  to  both  :  and  accordingly 
the  Bishops  of  Elphin  and  Killala  made  their  resigna- 
tions, their  Quarta  Pars  was  settled  upon  their  clergy, 
and  they  enjoy  it  to  this  day.  The  Archbishop  of 
Tuam  did  the  like;  and  his  resignation  was  on  the 


294  oniCINAL    LKTTEKS. 

road  to  Dublin.  But  the  wars  broke  out  in  1641,  and 
stopped  it  on  the  way ;  for  I  do  not  find  that  it  ever 
came  to  Dublin. 

On  the  Restoration,  a  very  old  man,  and  a  great 
sufferer  for  the  Royal  Cause,  being  made  Archbishop 
of  Tuam,  the  Quarta  Pars  came  into  ponsideration : 
and  on  account  of  his  great  age  and  merit,  it  was 
agreed  that  he  should  hold  it  during  his  incumbency, 
which  they  concluded  could^not  be  long.  His  next 
successor  had  the  same  plea,  and  was  likewise  suffered 
to  enjoy  it. 

In  the  year  1679,  the  then  Archbishop  being  trans- 
lated to  Dublin,  Dr.  Vesey,  the  now  deceased  arch- 
bishop, then  Bishop  of  Limerick,  was  named  for  Tuam; 
upon  which  the  Clergy  bestirred  themselves  and  peti- 
tioned the  Chief  Governor  and  Council  for  their  equi- 
table right  to  it ;  that  the  archbishop  had  resigned  as 
well  as  the  other  bishops,  and  had  his  equivalent,  which 
Mas  much  more  valuable  than  the  Quarta  Pars ;  that 
by  the  Act  of  Settlement  the  dispositions  made  in 
favour  of  the  Clergy  by  the  Earl  of  Strafford  were  con- 
firmed ;  and  that  hitherto  they  had  been  debarred  of 
the  benefit  thereof  by  the  power  of  the  Archbishops, 
and  the  favour  shewed  them  by  the  Government.  This 
Petition  was  very  favourably  received  by  the  then 
Chief  Governor  and  Council;  for  they  had  been  several 
times  promised  that,  on  the  first  Remove,  restitution 
should  be  made  them.     They  were  then  well  able  to 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  805 

prove  the  resignation ;  and  the  equivalent  is  still  en- 
joyed by  his  successors.  The  Archbishop,  finding  that 
the  Cause  was  like  to  go  against  him,  made  haste  to 
his  bishoprick  ;  and  calling  the  clergy  together,  dealt 
so  effectually  with  them,  that  he  brought  them  to  a 
compromise,  and  prevailed  with  them  to  recall  their 
Agent,  and  let  their  Petition  drop ;  which  was  done 
on  these  terms  to  the  best  of  my  memory.  The  War- 
denship  of  Galway  was  in  the  hands  of  a  vfry  old  man, 
one  Dr.  Vaughan,  brother  to  the  Lord  Chief  Justice 
Vaughan ;  and  the  Archbishop  did  agree  with  the 
Clergy,  that  he  would  use  his  interest  with  the  Govern- 
ment to  procure  that  in  Commendam  when  it  fell,  and 
then  that  he  would  give  up  the  Qnarta  Pars  to  them. 
The  Wardenship  soon  fell,  and  he  got  it  in  com- 
mendam ;  and  then  entered  into  a  new  treaty  with  the 
Clergy,  and  got  them  to  consent  that  he  should  hold 
the  Quarta  Pars  during  his  incumbency ;  and  by  this 
agreement  he  has  held  it  about  thirty-four  years.  I 
am  told  there  is  some  reference  to  this  agreement  in 
the  Patent,  but  I  have  not  yet  got  a  sight  of  it.  As 
soon  as  I  do,  I  shall  be  able  to  give  your  Grace  a  more 
certain  information. 

In  the  mean  time  I  think  it  necessary  to  acquaint 
your  Grace  with  the  nature  of  this  Wardenship.  There 
was  in  Galway,  before  the  Reformation,  a  Collegiate 
(yhurch  with  a  Warden,  and  a  certain  number  of  vicars. 
The  endowment,  if  I  remember  right,  was  nine  appro- 


296  OUIGIXAL    LKTTKUS. 

priated  country  parishes.  On  the  Reformation  this 
College  was  granted  to  the  town  of  Galway,  to  whom 
the  election  of  Warden  was  granted  ;  but  is  now  looked 
upon  to  be  in  the  Crown  by  the  forfeiture  of  1641. 
The  value  is  reckoned  to  be  less  than  c£200.  The 
Care  of  the  Town  and  the  Parishes  is  to  be  supported 
out  of  this ;  by  which  your  Grace  may  perceive  how 
improper  a  fund  this  was  to  support  the  cure  of  the 
town,  and  how  much  more  improper  such  a  cure  is  for 
a  Commendam.  The  Town  is  populous ;  most  Papists 
in  it ;  several  Nunneries  and  Frieries ;  and  we  have  not 
been  able,  with  all  our  laws,  to  suppress  them  utterly. 

I  have  now  laid  the  case  as  full  as  I  can,  at  present, 
before  your  Grace.  And,  the  favour  I  am  to  entreat 
of  your  Grace  is,  to  interpose,  and  not  to  suffer  the 
Archbishoprick  to  be  disposed  of  till  the  matter  of  the 
Quarta  Pars  and  Wardenship  be  settled ;  the  miserable 
state  of  that  Diocese  absolutely  requiring  it. 

TMie  only  objection  that  can  be  made  against  it  is, 
the  smallness  of  the  revenue  of  the  Archbishoprick.  I 
have  not  yet  got  a  rent-roll,  but  soon  shall,  and  will 
transmit  it  to  your  Grace ;  and  I  believe  when  the 
cheapness  of  the  country  is  considered,  and  the  differ- 
ence of  the  expenses  attending  the  archbishoprick  of 
Dublin,  that  the  Archbishoprick  of  Tuam,  with  the 
Bishoprick  of  Kilfenora  that  goes  along  with  it,  may, 
in  proportion,  be  very  near  as  good  (though  perhaps 
not  sufficient  to  tempt  one  of  your  clergy  who  despairs 


OKICINAL   LETTEKS. 


297 


of  preferment  at  home,  to  intrude  into  his  poor  Brother^s 
pittance,  and  defraud  him  of  his  expectation). 

We  have  but  about  six  hundred  beneficed  Clergymen 
in  Ireland ;  and  perhaps  of  these  hardly  two  hundred 
have  .£100  per  annum  :  and  for  you  to  send  your  su- 
pernumeraries to  be  provided  out  of  the  best  of  these, 
does  look  too  like  the  rich  man  in  Nathan's  parable. 

Your  Grace's  predecessor  was  well  apprized  of  the 
state  of  the  Poor  Clergy  of  Ireland,  and  had  great  re- 
gard to  them,  particularly  in  this  matter.  And  I  hope 
when  your  Grace  is  fully  apprized  of  the  state  of  this 
Church,  your  Grace  will  be  of  his  opinion.  In  the 
mean  time,  if  your  Grace  will  be  pleased  to  look  upon 
the  life  of  Bishop  Bramhall  before  his  Works,  it  may 
be  of  some  use  to  enable  your  Grace  to  frame  some 
notion  of  our  condition. 

I  heartily  pray  for  your  Grace's  health  and  happi- 
ness ;  and  am,  with  the  greatest  respect. 
My  Lord, 

Your  Grace's  most  humble  servant, 

WILL.    DUBLIN. 

I  am  afraid  an  Act  of  Parliament  may  be  necessary 
to  settle  the  business  of  the  Quarta  Pars ;  for,  though 
thirty-six  years  ago  the  resignation  could  be  proved, 
yet  by  the  death  of  witnesses,  and  the  burning  of  the 
records  in  the  Council  Chamber,  I  doubt  whether  we 
could  now  make  legal  proof  upon  a  trial ;  and  perhaps 
an  Archbishop,  when  once  invested,  may  bring  it  to  that. 


298  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCCXXIII. 

Bishop  Kennett  to  Mr.  Samuel  Blackwell.    The  King's 
preparations  to  go  to  Hanover. 

[MS.  LANSD.  1013.  foL  213.  Orig.] 


His  Majesty's  Voyage  though  not  expressly  yet  de- 
clared, is,  I  think,  sufficiently  understood,  and  I  sup- 
pose will  be  communicated  to  the  two  Houses  this  next 
week.  The  retinue  is  not  fixed,  but  by  common  re- 
port his  Majesty  will  be  attended  by  three  clergymen, 
Dr.  Torriano  as  deputy  clerk  of  the  closet,  and  the 
dean  of  Winchester  Dr.  Wickart,  and  Dr.  Menard 
or  his  brother,  as  chaplains,  who  have  all  been  travel- 
lers, and  are  good  masters  of  the  French  tongue.  The 
Regency  will  be  sole  in  the  Prince,  f*  with  an  assisting 
Council. 


June  9^\  1716. 


'  The  Prince  of  Wales  was  constituted  Guardian  of  the  Kingdom  and  his  Majesty's 
Lieutenant  during  his  absence  beyond  sea,  July  6<K  it16.  His  Majesty  embarked  at 
Gravescnd,  the  same  day,  for  Holland,  where  he  landed  on  the  a"-,  and  proceeded 
directly  to  Pyrmont  in  Germany. 


ORIGINAL    LETTEUS.  299 


LETTER  CCCCXXIV. 

Dr,  White  Kennett  to  Mr.  Blackwell.     The  Princess 
of  Wales  has  a  severe  confinement. 

[MS.  LANSD.  1013.  fol.  202.  Orig.\ 


Dear  Sir, 
I  RECEIVED  yours  this  week,  and  thought  to  have 
sent  you  a  large  Letter  by  this  post,  but  the  melancholy 
impressions  of  fear  and  suspense  for  the  good  Princess 
take  away  all  other  thoughts  at  present.  I  am  now  in 
waiting  at  Court,  and  left  it  shut  up  on  all  sides  this 
afternoon.  The  good  Princess  had  the  symptoms  of 
labour  on  Sunday  evening,  and  'tis  thought  might 
haVe  been  safely  delivered  of  a  living  son  that  night, 
or  any  time  before  Tuesday  morning,  if  Sir  David 
Hamilton  or  Dr.  Chamberlayne,  who  attended  without, 
might  have  been  admitted  to  her;  but  the  Hanover 
midwife  kept  up  the  aversion  of  the  Princess  to  have 
any  man  about  her,  and  so,  notwithstanding  the  im- 
portunity of  the  English  ladies  and  the  declared  advice 
of  the  Lords  of  the  Council,  she  continued  in  pains  till 
Friday  morning  between  one  and  two,^  when  the  mid- 
wife alone  delivered  [her]  of  a  dead  male  Child  wounded 
in  the  head.  She  has  since  been  extremely  weak  and 
subject  to  continual  faintings,  and  'tis  said  all  things 

»  Nov.  a'h.  IT16. 


300  ORIGINAL    LliTTEKS. 

are  not  alter  the  manner  of  women  in  that  condition. 
This  afternoon,  about  four,  the  Lord  Belhaven,  in 
waiting  on  the  Prince,  came  out  of  the  women's  cham- 
ber, and  told  me  the  Princess  had  been  asleep  for  about 
an  hour,  and  was  more  easy  after  it,  and  had  no  return 
of  her  fainting  fits.  But  we  are  every  minute  in  sor- 
rowful apprehensions ;  and  God  knows  what  may  be 
the  news  before  I  seal  up  this. 

Your  affectionate  friend, 

WH.    KENNKTT. 

Saturday,  6  at  night,  1716. 

P.S.  Nine  at  night.  Sending  frequently  to  St.  James's, 
the  last  account  is  more  comfortable,  that  her  Royal 
Highness  is  somewhat  better  and  if  this  night  past 
well  over,  there  will  be  great  hopes  of  her  doing  well. 

To  the  Rev.  Mr.  Samuel  Black- 
well,  B.  D.  Rector  of  Brampton, 
near  Harborough,  Northampton- 
shire. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  301 


,        LETTER  CCCCXXV. 

Bishop  Kennett  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Blackwell.  King 
George  the  First's  intention  to  make  a  Progress  to 
Yorkshire.     Trials  of  the  Rebels, 

[MS.  LANSD.  1013.  foL  204.  Orig.\ 


If  common  report  and  general  belief  be  good  au- 
thority, the  King  has  deferred  his  thoughts  of  going 
abroad,  and  intends  to  make  a  Progress  to  Yorkshire 
about  the  end  of  July;  to  stay  awhile  at  the  Lord 
Burlington's,  and  drink  of  the  neighbouring  Spau.  It 
is  most  likely  his  road  will  lead  through  Northampton 
and  Harborough,  or  at  least  Althorp  and  Bowden,  &c. 
I  presume  the  clergy  of  your  diocese  will  in  a  body 
wait  upon  his  Majesty  with  some  Address  *  * 
«  *  *  «  ♦ 

It  is  said  that  Mr.  Gascoyne,  one  of  the  Preston 
rebels  now  in  Newgate,  offers  to  make  up  such  evidence 
as  will  be  sufficient  to  bring  some  of  the  Tower  Pri- 
soners to  Twal.  The  other  trials  are,  in  course,  de- 
pending, and,  after  all  provocations,  the  examples  of 
Mercy  will  very  much  exceed  those  of  Justice. 

This  is  all  I  recollect  at  present,  but  that  in  general 
the  King's  interest  and  honour  rise  higher  every  day. 


802  OHIGINAL    LETTERS. 

and  to  pray  for  bis  life  includes  all  other  public  hap^ 
piness. 

I  am,  Dear  Sir, 
Your  very  affectionate  friend  and  kinsman, 

WH.    KENNETT. 

To  the  Rev.  Mr.  Samuel  Black- 
well,  Brampton,  near  Harborough, 
Northamptonshire. 


LETTER  CCCCXXVI. 

The  same  to  the  same.     The  Princess  recovered. 

[MS.  LANSD.  1013.  foL  208.   Orig.] 


The  Princess  is  in  a  very  safe  condition ;  the  long 
depending  labour,  and  the  loss  of  a  line  Prince  upon 
it,  made  a  great  ruffle  at  Court.  The  persisting  of  the 
midwife  that  she  wanted  no  other  help,  has  put  the 
English  ladies  out  of  all  good  opinion  of  her ;  and  the 
unwillingness  of  Sir  David  Hamilton  to  interpose  with- 
out express  command,  brought  on  him  severe  expostu- 
lations and  rebukes  from  the  women,  and  particularly 
from  good  Mrs.  Wake.  He  is  most  concerned  that  the 
Archbishop,  in  tenderness  to  the  Princess,  should  tell 

him  that  he  neglected  his  duty  to  the  Public. 

*  *  *  «  *• 

Nov.  24,  1716. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  303 


LETTER  CCCCXXVII. 

Dr.  Kennett  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Blackwell.     The  King 

returned  from  Hanover. 

:  I      [ms.  lansd.  1013.  fol.  215.  Orig.\ 


The  noise  of  joy  in  the  streets  is  just  now  so  great, 
that  I  must  be  very  short  not  to  be  interrupted  by  it. 
Other  accounts  by  this  post  will  tell  you  that  the  King 
landed  last  night  safe  at  Margate,  that  the  Prince  and 
many  Nobles  are  gone  out  to  meet  him  on  the  Kentish 
road,  and  hope  to  conduct  him  this  evening  to  St. 
James's.  My  account  (if  it  fail  not)  would  add  that 
my  Lord  Townshend  will  be  received  with  as  good 
humour  in  himself,  and  as  gracious  a  countenance  from 
the  King  as  any  other  subject  whatsoever :  and  that  no 
one  change  will  be  made  in  favour  of  the  Tories,  but 
still  the  same  wise  and  steady  administration.  Only  if 
any  of  the  Whigs,  so  called,  grow  peevish  and  unrea- 
sonable, he  will  deal  with  them  as  with  any  Tories, 
give  them  their  lives,  that's  all.  So  far  as  he  been 
used  abroad  to  govern  by  his  own  prudence  and  inte- 
grity, and  so  far  will  he  apply  those  noble  virtues  here 
in  the  strictest  regard  to  our  Laws  and  Constitution, 
as  well  as  to  his  own  honour  and  true  interest. 
Your  affectionate  friend. 

Sat.  Jan.  19,  1716-17.  wh.  kennett. 


304  ORIGINAT/  LKTTF.ns. 


LETTER  CCCCXXVIII. 

Dr.  White  Kennett  to  Dr.  Blackwell.  Project  of 
Charles  Xllth.  of  Sweden  Jbr  the  Invasion  of  Eng- 
land.    The  Court  quiet. 

[MS.  LANSD.  1013.  fol.  217.  Orig.'\ 
*^*  Much  has  been  cut  out  front  the  original  of  this  letter. 


»  *  *  *  *  • 

We  have  been  here  under  a  new  alarm.  It  is  no 
longer  a  doubt  that  the  Rebels  have  been  driving  at 
another  push,  and  have  concerted  with  another  King 
to  meet  him  in  the  North.  He  to  invade  with  twenty 
thousand,  and  they,  good  folks,  to  join  him  with 
twenty  thousand  more:  and  so  to  restore  King  James, 
and  so  to  return  to  Sweden,  and  so  all  things  to  be  well. 
This  project  indeed  has  been  swimming  in  the  heads 
of  the  Jacobites  a  long  while,  and  they  made  no  great 
secret  of  their  hopes  and  expectations.  Yet  we  thought 
a  mad  party  could  never  find  so  mad  a  Prince.  But 
so  'tis,  the  desperate  Cause  has  at  last  met  with  a 
suitable  undertaker ;  and  the  tables  are  really  turned 
from  a  descent  upon  Schonen, «  to  a  reverse  upon 
Scotland. 

#  *  #  #  # 

It  will  have  one  good  influence  upon  great  minds, 
and  teach  them  not  to  draw  and  fight  among  themselves 

•  Whither  Charles  XII'''.  had  retired  from  Stralsund. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  305 

in  the  face  of  the  enemy.  That  discretion  appears 
already.  The  Court  seems  quiet,  and  the  prime  mi- 
nister is  the  King,  and  they  are  his  only  favourites 
who  can  and  will  be  his  best  assistants :  if  not,  they 
may  go  and  help  themselves. 

If  my  Lord  Orford  persist  in  declining  the  sea- 
service,  the  Prince  himself  will  be  Lord  High  Admiral : 
and  if  Mr.  Wall  be  uneasy,  King  George  has  heard 
that  King  William  once  undertook  to  sit  himself  at 
the  head  of  the  Treasury  board.  My  Lord  Towns* 
hend  has  conquered  others'  humours  and  commanded 
his  own  resentments,  and  has  not  only  submitted  to 
accept  the  government  of  Ireland,  in  name  and  title, 
but  begins  to  do  business,  and  to  keep  his  levees  for 
that  Kingdom.  Lord  Sunderland  is  thought  to  be  at 
the  head  of  all  Councils,  but  with  no  distinguishing  .  . 

yet  at  least.    What  truth  in  the  rumours  of 

Grace,  and  Garter,  and  young  Lady,  I  don''t  know. 

The  worst  consequences  are,  no  reducing  the  Army 
nor  the  Taxes  in  the  present  juncture.  Necessity 
must  be  the  superior  law.  Otherwise,  I  dare  say,  the 
event  of  things  will  be,  that  the  Jacobite  faction  rebel 
against  the  Providence  of  God,  and  by  his  wisdom 
and  goodness  are  bringing  about  their  own  destruction 
and  our  only  safety. 

#  *  #  •  * 

Your  faithful  friend  and  kinsman, 
Febr.  2,  1716-17.  wh.  kennett. 

VOL.  IV.    SER.  2.  X 


306  ORIGINAL    LETTKRS. 


LETTER  CCCCXXIX. 

The  same  to  the  same, 

[ibid.  fol.  220.  Orig.^^ 


We  have  had  uneasy  convulsions  and  strange  at- 
tempts toward  a  confusion  among  us,  nor  can  our 
greatest  men  yet  agree  among  themselves  who  shall  be 
and  shall  not  be  the  Prime  Ministers.  And  yet  amidst 
these  divisions  at  home  we  are  daily  threatened  with 
invasion  from  abroad,  though  certainly  we  are  so  well 
prepared  against  it,  that  the  King  of  Sweden,  who  was 
so  desperate  to  project  it,  must  have  much  more  en- 
thusiasm in  him  to  put  it  in  execution. 

***** 

March  16,  1716-17. 


LETTER  CCCCXXX. 

Dr.  Kennett  to  Mr.  Blackwell.     The  King  of  Sweeten 
a  less  bugbear. 

[ibid.  foL  222.  OHg.'\ 


The  King  of  Sweden  is  every  day  a  less  bugbear  to 
us ;  not  that  we  have  any  advice  of  his  letting  fall  the 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  307 

intended  expedition,  or  diverting  it  elsewhere.  And  I 
think  we  are  so  well  prepared,  that  he  had  better  come 
once  than  be  always  a-coming. 

«  #  ■     #  4(  « 


LETTER  CCCCXXXI. 

Dr.  Kennett  to  Mr.  Blackwell.  Bangorian  Controversy. 
King  George  the  First. 

[ibid.  fol.  224.  Orig."] 


*  *  *  *  # 

I  CAN  send  you  no  news  but  that  the  paper  war 
about  the  Bishop  of  Bangor  draws  a  dreadful  deal  of 
ink,  black  and  bitter.  The  cry  is  more  than  the  wool 
on  either  side.  I  wish  the  first  word  had  been  spared, 
for  I  do  not  know  when  the  last  will  be  given. 

As  to  Parliament,  after  some  convulsions,  the  Session 
seems  to  be  drawing  to  a  quiet  end.  The  trial  I 
suppose  to  be  reserved  to  another  meeting.  Amidst 
all  disputes  and  personal  piques  of  Ministers,  new  and 
old,  I  am  fixed  in  this  opinion,  that  King  George  is 
one  of  the  honestest  men,  and  one  of  the  wisest  Princes 
in  the  world.  And  such  a  Prince,  at  the  head  of  a 
good  cause,  will  support  it  and  be  supported  by  it. 

#  *  #        .     «  « 

June  S'K  1717. 

X  2 


308  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCCXXXII. 

Dr,  Kennett  to  Mr.  Blackwell.     General  Nexos. 

[ibid.  fol.  228.  Orig.\ 


4K  ^  #  «  4( 

Your  Physician  Sir  David  Hamilton  is  gone  to  the 
Bath  for  some  weeks;  to  be  down  again  before  the 
expectation  of  the  Princess,  who  returns  to  St.  James's 
about  the  end  of  September  to  lie-in  there. 

•  «  4K  «  «- 

This  place  is  empty  of  all  people  of  fashion ;  and  I 
have  very  little  conversation  with  men  that  know  any 
thing  of  the  Court,  where  all  things  are  said  to  be  well 
and  easy,  and  to  promise  peace  and  happiness ;  but  let 
things  be  never  so  well  administered,  there  will  be  dis- 
contents and  murmurs  among  those  people  that  want 
places,  and  especially  among  those  that  want  the  Pre- 
tender. 

The  glorious  Victory  of  Prince  Eugene  over  the 
Turks,  and  the  taking  of  Belgrade,  and  the  extending 
of  conquests  farther,  is  a  just  cause  of  joy  to  all  good 
people ;  and,  amongst  other  good  effects,  will  hasten  a 
Peace  in  the  North  if  the  King  of  Sweden  will  listen 
to  any  reasonable  terms;  and  will  be  an  immediate 
check  to  the  perfidious  attempts  of  some  Catholic 
Powers  to  disturb  the  Emperor  while  engaged  against 


-     ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  309 

the  common  enemy ;  and  will  prevent  our  being  drawn 

into  another  war. 

#  #  •  •  * 

James-Street,  Westminster, 
Aug.  31,  1717. 


LETTER  CCCCXXXIII. 

Dr.  Kennett  to  Mr.  Blackwell.     The  Princess  near 
her  Confinement. 

[ibid.  fol.  232.   Orig.'\ 


Sir  David  Hamilton  was  called  to  Hampton  Court, 
and  is  now  set  upon  the  watch  in  St.  James's  Palace, 

for  every  minute  of  call  or  question  from  the  Princess. 

«  «  »  «  « 

Octob.  5,  1717. 


LETTER  CCCCXXXIV. 

Tfi£  same  to  the  same. 

[ibid.  fol.  236.  Orig.] 


Your  Physician  Sir  David  Hamilton  has  very  much 


310  ORIGINAL  LETTERS. 

improved  his  interest  at  Court  upon  occasion  of  the 
good  Princess''s  delivery  of  a  son:  for  though  he  did 
not  assist  in  the  immediate  moments,  yet,  by  the  igno- 
rance or  humour  of  the  same  midwife,  her  Royal  High- 
ness was  so  slow  in  the  calls  of  Nature,  and.  so  far 
going  into  convulsive  faintings,  that  there  was  great 
danger  of  her  life  and  the  child's,  if  Sir  David  had 
not  prescribed  some  raising  medicines  that  brought  on 
regular  and  effectual  pains,  and  a  speedy  safe  delivery. 
I  congratulate  with  you  the  public  blessing. 

The  last  fortnight  of  October  I  spent  at  Hampton 
Court,  as  called  to  wait  there  a  little  out  of  time.  I 
saw  as  much  Royal  goodness  and  noble  hospitality  as 
an  honest  heart  could  wish.  But  Courts  and  Crowns 
have  so  many  cares  and  troubles  appendant  to  them, 
that  I  begin  to  affect  privacy,  and  to  love  my  own 
studies  more  and  more. 

Parties  are  struggling  to  meet  the  next  Session,  and 
to  contend,  as  the  custom  is,  for  places,  rather  than  for 
any  other  cause.  But  the  King  is  so  gracious  and 
wise,  that  he  will  if  possible  reconcile  enemies  without 
forsaking  friends.  ;^ 

*  *  *  #  # 

Your  very  affectionate 

friend  and  kinsman, 

WH.  KENNETT. 

James-Street,  Westminster, 
Novemb.  16,  1717. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  311 


LETTER  CCCCXXXV. 

Dr.  Thomas  Tudwcuy  to  Mr.  Humphry  Wanley,  Lord 
Oxford's  Librarian.  Dr.  Bentley''s  behaviour  when 
the  King  went  to  Cambridge. 

[MS.  HAat.  3779.  foL  69.  Orig.^ 


I  GAVE  you  an  account  before  of  Bentley's  baulks 
and  blunders  about  the  King's  reception  here;  since 
which  he  has  met  with  two  pretty  remarkable  ones. 
The  first  was  wherein  I  was  concerned.  There  was  a 
grace  put  up  for  a  gratification  for  me,  for  my  care 
and  pains  at  the  reception  of  the  King  in  King's 
College  Chapel ;  this  Bentley  maliciously  opposed,  in 
spite,  because  we  had  wrested  that  solemnity  out  of 
his  hands,  who  would  have  had  it  at  his  own  Chapel ; 
but  this  was  carried  against  him  and  the  whiggish  crew, 
by  a  sufficient  majority.  The  Monday  following  (the 
day  that  the  Masters  were  at  Wimple,'*  and  Mr.  Jef- 
ferys  staid  there,  and  Mr.  Prior  who  had  been  at  Cam- 
bridge but  for  them)  being  the  day  that  we  choose  a 
Vice-Chanqellor,  Bentley,  with  a  reinforcement  of 
devils,  almost  as  wicked  as  himself,  returned  to  the 
charge.  The  two  heads  pricked  were  Dr.  Gooch, 
and  Dr.  Bradford  commonly  called  Tadpole ;  but  the 

«  WiiiUMilc. 


31^  ORIGINAL    LKTTEKS. 

Master  of  Caius  carried  it  by  a  greater  majority  than 
before. 

Nov.  9*1717. 


LETTER  CCCCXXXVI. 

The  same  to  the  same.     Still  upwi  Dr.  Bentley, 
[ibid.  foL  77-) 


«  *  «  #  « 

You  know  Bentley  and  his  communicationj  and 
therefore  there  needs  nothing  n>ore  to  be  said  on  that 
head.  You  have  heard  already  the  noise  his  exaction 
made  at  King  George's  Commencement  of  Four  Guineas 
for  every  Doctor  of  Divinity  which  he  created,  other- 
wise he  refused  to  create  them.  They  all  paid  it  but  a 
few,  but  with  great  reluctance,  and  thereupon  he  pro- 
mised that  if  that  matter  ever  came  to  be  determined 
against  him  he  would  refund.  The  Chancellor  gave 
it  against  him.  So  has  the  Vice-Chancellor,  and  the 
Heads.  Hereupon  Dr.  Middleton,  one  of  the  aggrieved, 
and  lately  one  of  the  fellows  of  Trinity  College,  de- 
mands of  him  his  four  Guineas,  which  he  refusing  to 
repay.  Dr.  Middleton  sues  him  in  the  Vice-Chancellor's 
Court.     He  making  no  appearance  to  the  Suit,  the 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


313 


Vice-Chancellor  sends  a  decree  to  arrest  him,  which  is 
executed  always  by  one  of  the  beadles.  He  went  to 
his  lodge  and  told  him  his  business,  and  showed  him 
his  authority.  He  desired  Mr.  Clark  the  beadle  to  let 
him  see  it,  which  he  refused  to  do  out  of  his  own  hand  ; 
but  making  protestations  upon  honour  to  restore  it,  he 
gave  it  him,  which  he  like  a  true  Bentleian,  and  like 
his  bond  fide,  put  into  his  pocket,  and  added,  like  an 
overgrown  school-boy,  which  is  his  just  character,  "  I 
told  you  I  would  give  it  you  again,  but  I  did  not  say 
when."  Hereupon  the  Vice-Chancellor,  who  has  be- 
haved with  great  courage  and  resolution,  granted  an- 
other decree;  but  my  gentleman  would  not  then  be 
found ;  and  while  the  beadle  waited  in  one  of  his  rooms 
for  him,  he  sent  Ashenhurst  and  others  of  his  creatures, 
who  mocked  and  insulted,  and  asked  him  what  he  did 
there.  He  told  them  that  he  must  speak  with  the 
Master.  They  told  him  the  Master  could  not  be 
spoke  with,  and  bid  him  come  out,  which  he  refused 
to  do  till  he  had  delivered  his  message.  Hereupon 
they  locked  him  in,  and  made  him  a  prisoner  two  or 
three  hours.  This  insult  upon  the  authority  of  the 
University,  with  a  thousand  other  insolent  speeches, 
defying  the  Vice-Chancellor  and  Heads,  and  at  all 
times  and  occasions  behaving  himself  with  the  greatest 
contempt,  and  speaking  reproachfully  of  every  body 
that  he  had  any  concern  with ;  the'  Vice-Chancellor, 
like  a  brave  magistrate,  those  things  being  all  drawn 


314  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

up  into  kind  of  articles,  and  affidavit  being  made  of 
them,  summoned  a  Court,  and  all  these  insolences  being 
again  read  and  repeated  and  swore  to,  the  Vice-Chan- 
cellor  pronounced  him  suspended  from  all  his  Degrees, 
and  sent  him  word  further,  that  if  he  did  not,  on  the 
next  Court-day,  appear  and  make  his  submission,  and 
acknowledge  his  offence,  he  would  deprive  him  of  his 
Professorship  and  declare  it  void.  What  a  struggle 
must  there  needs  be  now  betwixt  Bentley's  pride  and 
his  interest !  Some  say  one  will  make  him  submit,  and 
others  are  of  the  mind  that  he  will  risk  all.  However, 
Monday  or  Tuesday  the  Vice-Chancellor  designs  to 
have  a  Court,  and  then  we  shall  see  the  devil  pluck  in 
his  horns.  - 

Your  affectionate  and  obliged 

friend  and  servant, 

THO.  TUDWAY. 

I  forgot  to  tell  you  that  six  or  eight  of  the  Heads 
were  the  Vice-Chancellor"'s  Assessors  upon  the  Bench, 
and  assenting  to  this  execution  of  Bentley's. 


OttlGINAL    LETTERS, 


315 


LETTER  CCCCXXXVII. 

ArcJihlshop  King  to  Archbishop  Wake.     The  Differ- 
ences at  Court. 

[MS.  DONAT.  61 17.  p-  99-] 


Dublin,  Jan.  ll*''.  1717. 

#  #  #  *  * 

I  AM  perfectly  at  a  loss  as  to  any  knowledge  of  what 
passes  at  Court,  and  am  heartily  sorry  to  find  your 
Grace  seems  so  much  a  stranger  there.  I  am  afraid 
your  Grace  is  only  Bishop  of  Canterbury.  If  the 
whole  world  had  consulted  together  to  find  an  effec- 
tual way  to  make  a  faction  irreconcilable,  I  cannot 
imagine  they  could  have  invented  a  more  infallible, 
than  to  hinder  all  conversation  or  common  civilities 
among  partisans.  And  whoever  invented  or  advised 
that  prohibition  was  surely  his  crafts-master.  How 
can  it  be  expected  that  ever  persons  should  come  to  a 
good  understanding  between  themselves,  when  common 
friends  are  not  allowed  to  be  common  friends,  but  all 
obliged  to  deplare  themselves  mutual  enemies. 

I  pity  your  Grace  and  others  that  are  sincere  to  his 
Majesty,  who,  I  fear,  are  neither  at  liberty  to  speak 
your  minds,  nor  do  your  duties.  For  aught  I  find,  we 
generally  arc  of  one  mind  here  as  to  that  afiair,  and 


316  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

speak  the  same  way,  bemoaning  the  fatal  circumstances, 
and  pleasing  ourselves  only  in  this,  that  we  are  at  a 
distance  from  it. 

But,  as  your  Grace  observes,  the  mischief  will  cer- 
tainly in  the  event  reach  us  if  it  continue,  and  I  doubt 
it  will  all  Europe.  Pray  God  prevent  the  effects  of  it. 
But  is  there  nobody  that  dares  deal  with  the  parties  as 
Joab  did  with  David,  when  he  found  him  engaged  in 
a  practice  that  disgusted  and  shamed  all  his  friends .''  I 
pray  God  that  there  be  not  the  same  necessity  for  such 
a  freedom  of  advice  in  this  exigent  as  there  was  in  that 
affair ;  and  that  there  may  not  want  those  that  will 
give  it  with  the  same  boldness. 

*  Mk  *  *  * 

Your  Grace's  most  humble  and 
obedient  servant, 

WILL.    DUBLIN. 


LETTER  CCCCXXXYIII. 

Archbishop  Xing'  to  Archbishop  Wake.     Still  upoti 
the  Court  differences. 
[ms.  DONAT.  6I17.  p.  lOL] 


Dublin,  Feb.  6"'.  1717. 
***** 

I  DO  not  know  any  body  that  has  a  more  difficult 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  317 

game  to  play  than  your  Grace  in  the  present  circum- 
stances :  and  I  think  'tis  rather  more  difficult  by  reason 
the  liberty  is  allowed  you  to  visit  the  Princess.  More 
may  be  expected  from  your  Grace  by  both  parties 
than  is  in  your  power ;  and  every  thing  you  do  or  say 
will  be  inquired  into;  and  ten  to  one  but  misre- 
presented. 

I  am  of  opinion  this  breach  will  be  made  up ;  but  I 
doubt  "'twill  be  with  great  slaughter  of  favourites  on 
both  sides. 

Your  Grace's  most  obedient  servant 
and  brother, 

WILL.    DUBLIN. 


LETTER  CCCCXXXIX. 

Bishop  Nicolson  to   Archbishop   Wake:    details  his 
Journey  to  take  possession  i)fthe  See  ofDerry. 

[ms.  donat.  mus.  bhit.  611C.  p.  121.] 


Londonderry,  June  24,  1718. 

My  very  good  Lord, 

I  HAD  the  honour  of  your  Grace's  letter  of  the  10  ''. 

just  as  I  was  leaving  Dublin  this  day  se'nnight,  and 

about  an  hour  after  I  had  sent  to  the  post  my  last  letter 

for  Lambeth.     The  Archbishop  of  Dublin  did  not 


318  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

come  home  whilst  I  staid  in  town,  which  bereft  me 
of  the  opportunity  of  getting  his  particular  informa- 
tions concerning  the  state  of  his  quondam  diocese  of 
Derry,  which  his  singular  courtesy  would  not  have  suf- 
fered him  to  withhold.  I  was  also  forced  to  come  away 
without  personal  assent  to  my  licence  of  return  to  my 
family,  and  of  continuing  in  England  till  May  next ; 
which  favour  I  readily  obtained  from  the  other  two 
Lords  Justices. 

They  were  also  pleased  to  grant  me  a  guard  of  dra- 
goons, with  whom  I  travelled  in  great  security  through 
a  country  said  to  be  much  infested  with  a  set  of  barba- 
rous and  pilfering  Tories.  I  saw  no  danger  of  losing 
the  little  money  I  had ;  but  was  under  some  appre- 
hensions of  being  starved :  having  never  beheld  even 
in  Picardy,  Westphalia,  or  Scotland,  such  dismal  marks 
of  hunger  and  want  as  appeared  in  the  countenances  of 
most  of  the  poor  creatures  that  I  met  with  on  the  road. 
The  wretches  lie  in  reeky  sod-hovels ;  and  have  gene- 
rally no  more  than  a  rag  of  coarse  blanket  to  cover  a 
small  part  of  their  nakedness.  Upon  the  strictest  in- 
quiry, I  could  not  find  that  they  are  better  clad  or 
lodged  in  the  winter  season.  These  sorry  slaves  plough 
the  ground  to  the  very  top  of  their  mountains,  for  the 
service  of  their  lords ;  who  spend  truly  rack  rents,  as 
somebody  supposed  those  of  this  diocese  would  be  spent, 
in  London.  A  ridge  or  two  of  potatoes  is  all  the  poor 
tenant  has  for  the  support  of  himself,  a  wife,  and  com- 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  319 

raonly  ten  or  twelve  bare-legged  children.  To  com- 
plete their  misery,  these  animals  are  bigoted  Papists ; 
and  we  frequently  met  them  trudging  to  some  ruined 
church  or  chapel,  either  to  mass,  a  funeral,  or  a  wedding, 
with  a  priest  in  the  same  habit  with  themselves. 

I  was  pretty  curious,  my  Lord,  in  inquiring  after 
the  temporal  state  of  my  Metropolitan,  our  Primate ; 
but  had  not  the  satisfaction  of  finding  that  his  revenue 
was  so  great  as  it  had  been  represented  to  your  Grace. 
I  went  through  all  the  apartments  of  his  chief  Palace 
at  Drogheda ;  which  is  so  far  from  meriting  a  compa- 
rison with  Lambeth,  that  I  can  modestly  aver  my  suc- 
cessor will  find  a  better  house  in  Rose  Castle.  His 
Grace  comes  so  seldom  there,  and  so  little  fuel  has 
been  spent  in  it  of  late,  that  I  should  be  as  much  afraid 
of  living  there  as  I  am  of  bringing  my  family  into  one 
somewhat  better  in  this  town. 

Hither  I  came  in  much  more  pomp  than  I  wish  for, 
last  Saturday  in  the  evening.  The  Chancellor  of  the 
diocese  (Dr.  Jenkins,  cotemporary  with  my  Lord  of 
York  at  St.  John's  in  Oxford)  brought  me  to  his 
house  on  the  road,  at  ten  miles'  distance ;  where  I  was 
met  by  the  neighbouring  clergy,  the  two  citizens  in 
Parhament,  the  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Sheriffs,  &c. 
who  all  accompanied  me  to  my  lodging.  The  next 
morning  I  was  enthroned  by  the  Dean  ;  and  have  been 
every  day  since  regaled  and  feasted  by  some  great  man 
or  other.    Yesterday  the  Bishop  of  Raphoe  and  I  were 


320  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

complimented  with  the  dignity  of  Freemen ;  and  after 
he  left  us,  the  Corporation  gave  a  splendid  entertain- 
ment, in  their  Guildhall,  to  me  and  all  the  clergy  in 
town. 

These  joys  are  exceedingly  damped  by  the  account 
your  Grace  gives  of  your  continuing  indisposed. 
#  #  *  *  * 

I  am  ever  your  Grace''s  most  obliged 
and  dutiful  servant, 

W.    DERRY. 


LETTER  CCCCXL. 


Jos.  Wilcocks  to  Bishop  Kennett^Jrom  Hanover.  An 
Account  of  xohat  was  passing  there  during  the 
King''s  Visit  in  1720. 

[MS.  LANSD.  1038.  fol.  81.  Orig.\ 


My  Lord, 
I  BECKON  this  will  have  the  honour  to  wait  on  you 
in  the  country,  and  I  flatter  myself  that  a  visitor  from 
Hanover,  which  is  at  present  the  great  theme  of  con- 
sultation, will  not  be  unwelcome  to  your  Lordship.  It 
was  some  time  before  we  had  any  occurrences  here 
worth  communicating ;  his  Majesty  being  gone  to  Pyr- 
mont  and  my  Lord  Stanhope  to  Berlin,  here  was  for 
several  weeks  but  a  very  thin  Court  at  Herrenhausen. 


ORIGrNAL    LETTERS. 


8si 


Since  the  King's  return  from  the  waters,  which 
agreed  very  well  with  him,  we  have  had  a  great  ap- 
pearance of  strangers,  especially  foreign  ministers. 
The  King  of  Prussia  has  paid  a  visit  here  of  about 
ten  days:  he  has  a  brisk  enterprising  look,  wears  a 
short  waistcoat,  narrow  hat,  and  broad  sword,  and  has 
his  own  hair  tied  back,  and  obliges  all  his  soldiers  and 
the  officers  of  his  army  to  do  the  like ;  and  because  his 
army  is  clothed  in  blue,  he  generally  wears  the  same 
colour  himself 

The  Duke  of  York  ^  came  hither  soon  after  his  Ma-' 
jesty's  return  from  Pyrniont,  and  designs  to  stay  with 
him  till  he  goes  to  the  Gohre ;  he  is  a  very  obliging 
affable  Prince ;  I  have  the  honour  sometimes  of  dis- 
coursing with  him,  and  he  has  asked  me  a  great  many 
questions  about  his  nieces,  the  young  Princesses,  and 
their  education.  His  revenue,  as  Bishop  of  Osnabruck, 
is  about  100,000  crowns  per  annum. 

Prince  Frederick  was  for  some  months  indisposed, 
he  had  a  trembling  on  his  nerves,  which  put  him  much 
out  of  order,  but  it  is  now  above  six  weeks  that  he  has 
had  no  return  of  it,  so  that  'tis  hoped  it  has  quite  left 
him.  His  behaviour  is  very  manly  ;  he  speaks  English 
pretty  well ;  J  have  the  honour  often  to  dine  and  sup 
with  his  Highness,  and  can  assure  your  Lordship  that 
he  is  in  all  respects  a  well  accomplished,  and  very  fine 
youth. 

•  Ernest  Augustus  Prince  of  Brunswick  Luncnburgh,  the  brother  of  King  George 
the  First,  was  created  Duke  of  York  and  Albany,  anid  Earl  of  Ulster,  June  SOh.  ITlfi. 
Me  was  also  bishop  of  Osnaburgh. 

VOL.  IV.    SER.  2.  Y 


322  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

I  have  the  pleasure  to  acquaint  your  Lordship,  as 
I  am  told  by  very  good  hands  I  may,  that  the  affair  of 
Religion  is  likely  to  take  a  good  turn  in  the  Empire 
and  be  amicably  accommodated.  My  Lord  Stanhope"'s 
concern  for  the  Protestant  interest  in  general,  is  ac- 
companied with  a  very  exemplary  behaviour  at  Hano- 
ver, we  have  a  Chapel  in  the  Court,  where  his  Lord- 
ship has  never  yet  failed  of  coming  on  Sundays  with 
his  family,  and  my  congregation  is  now  pretty  con- 
siderable. 

I  do  not  find  there  is  any  thing  considerable  printing 
either  at  Leipsic  or  Helmstadt,  except  Keppler's  works 
in  the  former,  in  several  volumes  folio,  by  the  Emperor's 
encouragement,  they  talk  of  collecting  Mr.  Leibnitz's 
pieces,  but  it  is  not  certain  when  they  will  be  published. 
The  quality  and  gentry  of  this  country  taking  to  the 
sword,  learning  is  in  no  great  credit ;  the  superin- 
tendants  have  generally  but  small  incomes,  but  the 
Abbot  of  Lockum,  who  is  the  first  ecclesiastic  in  the 
Duchy  of  Hanover,  has  about  ^£'1500  sterling  per 
annum  :  he  is  near  ninety  years  old,  but  holds  as  fast 
as  the  Bishop  of  Durham.  '■ 

Sir  G.  Byng,  his  two  sons,  and  Captain  Saunders 
arrived  here  the  other  day  from  Italy,  and  have  been 
very  graciously  received.  The  King  is  mightily  pleased 
with  a  new  jette  d'eau  in  Herrenhausen  gardens  made 
by  one  Andrews  an  Englishman,  and  which  throws 

»  Nathaniel  Lord  Crew  became  bishop  of  Durham  in  IfiT4.    He  <licd  55cpt.  I8't>. 
1721,  .igeil  eighty-eight. 


ORTOINAL    LETTERS.  323 

up  a  great  quantity  of  water  about  sixty  feet  high. 
The  Palace  at  Hanover  is  better  than  St.  James's,  and 
the  Gardens  at  Herrenhausen  larger  than  those  at 
Kensington.  Here  is  a  public  Library  but  not  extra- 
ordinary, the  best  in  this  country  is  that  of  Wolfen- 
buttel,  where  it  is  said  there  are  abundance  of  Manu- 
scripts relating  to  the  Government  of  Britain. 

The  Lutherans  here,  though  they  hold  a  real  pre- 
sence in  the  Eucharist,  disclaim  the  term  consubstan- 
tiation,  and  say  it  is  a  word  of  reproach  thrown  upon 
them  by  the  reformed :  however  it  be,  as  they  draw  no 
consequences  of  adoration  or  any  thing  like  it,  if  it  be 
a  speculative  error,  it  seems  to  be  a  very  innocent  one. 
The  Churches  of  the  Lutherans  are  adorned  with 
pictures  and  images,  but  they  use  no  surplice. 

His  Majesty  continues  in  very  good  health,  and  I 

hope  about  two  months  hence  to  have  the  honour  of 

waiting  on  your  Lordship  in  London ;  in  the  mean 

time  with  respects  to  your  good  Lady  and  family,  I  am 

My  Lord, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

JOS.  WILCOCKS. 

Hanover,  Sept.  5,  1720.  N.  S. 


Dr.  Wilcocks,  the  writer  of  this  Letter,  was  made  Bishop  of  Glou- 
cester  in  1721,  and  in  1731  was  translated  to  the  See  of  Rochester,  which 
he  held  with  the  Deanry  of  Westminster.  He  afterwards  refused  great 
preferment,  even  the  archbishoprick  of  York ;  and  died  March  O"".  176(5, 
aged  eighty-three. 


1      /V 


324  ORTGINAT,    I.V.TTERS. 


LETTER  CCCCXLI. 

Dr.  Nicolson,  Bishop  of  Derry,  to  Archbishop  Wake, 
The  effects  of  the  Smith  Sea  Scheme  upon  Ireland. 

[mS.  DOKAT.  6116,  p.   197.] 


Londonderry,  Dec.  6^''.  1720. 
My  very  good  Lord, 
The  last  Letter  wherewith  your  Grace  honoured  me 
was  dated  November  the  3''.  and  came  regularly  about 
the  13*.  From  that  day  we  have  not  had  one  word 
of  Advice  out  of  England  till  this  morning,  when  nine 
Packets  arrived  together,  and  brought  us  the  first  sure 
notice  of  his  Majesty's  safe  return,  for  which  we  are 
this  minute  giving  solemn  thanks  in  ringing  of  bells, 
bonfires,  &c.  This  is  a  cheerful  scene  when  compared 
with  the  gloominess  which  has  been  upon  all  our  faces 
for  some  months  past :  and  I  am  afraid  the  darkness 
will  yet  thicken.  Our  trade  of  all  kinds  is  at  a  stand, 
insomuch  that  our  most  eminent  merchants  who  used 
to  pay  bills  of  d£*1000  at  sight,  are  hardly  able  to  raise 
J*100  in  so  many  days.  Spindles  of  yarn  (our  daily 
bread)  are  fallen  from  half  a  crown  to  fifteen  pence; 
and  every  thing  else  in  proportion.  Our  best  beef  (as 
good  as  I  ever  eat  in  England)  is  sold  under  three 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  325 

ferthings  a  pound.  And  all  this  not  from  any  extra- 
ordinary plenty  of  commodities,  but  from  a  perfect 
dearth  of  money. 

If  Mr.  Walpole,  or  any  other  wise  man,  will  bring 
the  two  Kingdoms  out  of  the  present  plunge,  he  will 
be  a  meritorious  patriot. 

We  feel  the  poverty  of  the  town  and  neighbourhood 
of  Manchester  (whence  we  used  to  have  an  annual  de- 
mand for  all  the  yarn  we  could  spin)  as  much  as  the 
inhabitants  of  the  place  can  do. 

*  *  #  »  ♦      ' 

Your  Grace's  most  obliged, 
obedient  and  dutiful  servant, 

w.  DERUr. 


LETTER  CCCCXLII. 


Dr.  Kitigj  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  to  ArchbisJtop  Wake. 
Still  upon  the  Affair  of  the  South  Sea  Company. 

[MS.  DONAT.  (JI17.  p.  126.] 


Dublin,  Feb.  9^^.  17^0. 
#  ♦  ♦  *  ♦ 

As  to  your  South  Sea  Affair  I  told  the  fate  of  it  last 
April,  when  it  was  at  three  hundred  for  one  hundred, 


526  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

and  the  event  has  in  every  particular  answered  my  pre- 
diction, which  I  set  down  in  a  few  queries  which  I 
shewed  to  my  friends  but  would  not  suffer  them  to  be 
printed,  because  I  understood  that  whoever  said  any 
thing  against  the  South-Sea  was  looked  on  as  disaffected 
to  the  Government  and  Ministry,  which  is  an  accusa- 
tion I  would  by  no  means  lie  under.  I  find  both 
Houses  are  pretty  smart  on  the  Directors ;  but  I  hear 
nothing  said  concerning  those  whose  office  it  was  to 
prevent  the  ruin  of  the  Nation.  If  they  did  see  that, 
and  suffered  it  when  it  was  so  very  easy  to  prevent  it,  it 
is  no  hard  matter  to  determine  what  they  deserve.  If 
they  did  not  see  it,  they  were  the  only  blind  set  of  men 
in  the  Kingdom,  and  for  the  future  ought  never  to  be 
trusted  in  any  public  business ;  and,  beside  that,  chas- 
tised for  meddling  in  the  matters  of  which  they  were 
absolutely  incapable :  for  surely  such  ought  not  to  go 
unpunished.  But  it  is  now  no  new  thing  to  hang  little 
rogues  and  let  the  great  escape. 

.  *  *  #  *  * 

Your  Grace's 

most  obedient  servant  and  brother, 

WILL.  DUBLIN. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  327 


LETTER  CCCCXLIII. 

The  Archbishop  of  Dublin  to  Archbishop  Wake^  upon 
the  same. 

[ms.  donat.  6117.  p.  127.] 


Dublin,  March  23,  1720. 

#  *  *  #  # 

I  WILL  say  no  more  to  your  South  Sea,  but  it  lias 
surely  made  us  miserable  to  the  highest  degree,  if 
starving  be  a  misery.  I  lately  had  a  petition  from 
three  hundred  families  concerned  in  the  linen,  silk,  and 
woollen  trade.  I  laid  it  before  the  Government,  with 
another  to  the  Justices  and  Council ;  u^wn  which  I  was 
ordered  to  inquire  into  the  truth  of  the  matter,  and 
thereupon  I  procured  the  several  ministers,  church- 
wardens, and  other  substantial  citizens  to  go  through 
the  parishes,  and  to  inquire  and  see  the  circumstances 
of  the  petitioners.  They  have  done  so  in  most  parishes, 
and  returned  the  names  of  above  thirteen  hundred, 
beside  wives  and  children,  who  are  all  out  of  employ- 
ment and  starving,  having  sold  every  thing  to  get  them 
bread.  I  was  of  opinion  before,  that  one-third  of  this 
City  needed  charity  ;  but  this  and  other  inquiries  have 
assured  me  that  at  least  one  half  are  in  this  lamentable 
.state.    I  have  ordered  a  collection  in  every  Church  for 


3S8  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

them,  and  engaged  the  Clergy  to  represent  their  case 
in  the  most  effectual  manner  to  their  people,  but  alas  ! 
this,  and  all  the  subscriptions  I  can  get  for  them,  is 
nothing  in  respect  of  their  wants.  Most  of  our  gentry 
and  officers,  civil  and  military,  are  in  England.  Those 
that  are  here,  cannot  get  their  rents  from  their  tenants. 
The  merchants  have  no  trade;  shop-keepers  need 
charity ;  and  the  cry  of  the  whole  people  is  loud  for 
bread.  God  knows  what  will  be  the  consequence. 
Many  are  starved,  and  I  am  afraid  many  more  will. 

This  is  an  effect  in  a  great  measure  of  the  public 
management.  And  all  the  satisfaction  I  yet  see  the 
nation  are  to  expect,  are  some  hard  votes  on  some  few 
Directors ;  and  not  one  word  against  those  that  stood 
by  and  saw  them  do  the  mischief,  when  they  might 
and  ought  to  have  prevented  it.  And  if  the  account 
we  have  here  be  true,  no  industry  is  wanting  to  screen 
the  criminals ;  and  the  inquirers  are  discouraged. 
Whether  there  be  truth  in  this  your  Grace  knows. 
I  am  sure,  however,  it  is  no  service  to  the  Government 
to  have  it  reported. 

We  were  in  a  miserable  condition  in  King  James''s 
time;  but  we  generally  had  meat  an4  drink,  though 
with  insufferable  slavery  and  oppression  :  but  now  we 
have  nothing  of  those  but  what  we  bring  on  ourselves, 
yet  the  poor  are  in  danger  of  starving,  and  many  have 
perished.  The  Gaols  are  full,  not  of  State  prisoners, 
as  then,  but  of  debtors. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

Your  Grace  will  pardon  my  giving  you  this  trouble. 
The  truth  is,  it  is  so  great  a  grief  to  me  to  see  so  many 
miserable,  and  not  to  be  able  to  relieve  them,  that  I 
can  hardly  think,  speak,  or  write  of  any  thing. 
Your  Grace''s  most  obedient 

servant  and  brother, 

WILL.  DUBLIN. 


LETTER  CCCCXLIV. 

Dr.  King,  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  to  Archbishop  Wake. 
The  effect  of  the  South  Sea  Failure  still  continues 
in  Ireland. 

[mS.  DONAT.  6II7.  p.   135.] 


Dublin,  May  15"'.  1722. 

«  #  *  *  » 

The  present  bustle  gives  us  great  uneasiness,  and 
will  help  to  sink  this  Kingdom,  by  putting  a  stop  to  all 
trade  and  business.  Nobody  will  part  with  a  farthing 
of  money,  if  he  can  help  it,  till  it  be  over.  We  are 
the  more  uneasy,  because  we  know  the  bottom  or  rea- 
son of  it ;  and^  people  entertain  wild  and  strange  sur- 
mises concerning  it,  which  are  fed  and  heightened  by 
private  letters  from  England.  We  are  sending  off 
Six  Regiments  to  assist  you.  One  would  think,  con- 
sidering the  number  of  Papists  wc  have  here,  that  our 


330  OKIGINAL    LETTERS. 

gentry  are  for  the  most  part  in  England,  and  all  our 
money  goes  there,  that  we  should  rather  expect  help 
from  you  in  any  distress,  than  send  you  Forces  to  pro- 
tect you.  Yet  this  is  the  third  time  we  have  done  so 
since  His  Majesty's  accession  to  the  Throne;  and 
withal  preserved  the  Kingdom  from  any  Insurrection 
or  Rebellion ;  which  is  more  than  can  be  said  for  Eng- 
land or  Scotland. 


LETTER  CCCCXLV. 


Dr.  Nicolson,  Bishop  ofDerry,  to  Arclihishoj)  Wake. 
The  new  Irish  Halfpence. 

[ms.  donat.  6116.  p.  237.] 

*^  The  Reader  need  hardly  be  informed  that,  in  1722,  the  want  of 
small  money  in  Ireland  had  grown  to  such  a  height  that  even  considerable 
manufacturers  were  obliged  to  pay  their  workmen  with  tallies  or  tokens 
of  card  signed  upon  the  back,  to  be  afterwards  exchanged  for  money. 
Counterfeit  coins  too,  called  Raps,  were  in  common  use,  made  of  such 
bad  metal,  that  what  passed  for  a  halfpenny  was  really  not  worth  half  a 
Farthing.  In  order  to  remedy  these  evils,  the  King  granted  a  patent  to 
William  Wood,  Esq.  the  chief  lessee  of  the  mines  on  the  crown  lands, 
for  coining  and  uttering  Halfpence  and  Farthings  in  that  Kingdom.  The 
privilege  was  for  the  term  of  fourteen  years,  the  quantity  to  be  coined 
limited,  and  the  issues  to  be  under  the  inspection  of  a  Comptroller  ap- 
pointed by  the  Crown.  A  rent  of  800Z.  per  annum  was  reserved  to  the 
King,  and  200/.  a  year  to  the  Comptroller.  Notwithstanding  these  re- 
strictions, and  though  the  coins  in  weight,  fineness,  and  execution,  ex- 
ceeded any  which  had  been  previously  made  for  Ireland,  the  measure 


ORIGINAL    LETTEES.  331 

became  unpopular,  and  the  prejudices  of  the  people  were  so  worked  upon 
by  Swift  and  others,  that  \^''ood  was  finally  induced  to  surrender  his 
Patent 

The  Reader  who  would  know  all  that  passed  upon  the  subject  of  this 
and  some  succeeding  Letters,  may  consult  Simon's  Essay  on  Irish  Coins, 
pp.  69,  70,  171 ;  Swift's  Works,  vol,  xv ;  Ruding's  Annals  of  the 
Coinage  of  Britain,  S-^.tdit.  voL  iii.  p.  472— 486 ;  and  Coxe's  Blemoirs 
of  Sir  Robert  Walpole. 


Dublin,  Sept.  21^^  1722. 
My  very  good  Lord, 
This  day  the  Bishop  of  Elphin  and  I  had  the  fa- 
vour of  being  admitted  to  hear  the  Debates  of  our 
House  of  Commons  on  (their  only  subject  of  contro- 
versy) the  new  Irish  Halfpence.  They  have  loaded 
the  Patentee  (W.  Wood)  with  heavy  censures;  but 
treated  His  Majesty,  the  Lord  Lieutenant,  and  the 
English  Ministry,  with  decency.  The  Report  from 
the  Committee  of  the  whole  House  is  to  be  made  on 
Monday,  when  an  Address  will  be  made  on  their 
several  Resolutions,  wherein  they  unanimously  agree 
that  this  Kingdom  would  have  suffered  a  loss  of  150 
per  Cent  by  the  Patentee's  execution  of  his  powers,  if 
he  had  performed  the  conditions  of  his  grant,  and 
much  more  by  his  abuse  of  it.  Dining  very  late  with 
the  Lord  Chancellor  will  not  admit  of  a  fuller  report 
from 

Your  Grace's  most  dutiful, 

W.  DERRY. 


332  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCCXLVI. 

Dr.  Nicolson,  Bishop  ofDerry,  to  Archbishop  Wake. 
Apprehension  of  losing  all  the  Gold  and  Silver  in 
Ireland  in  exchange  for  Halfpence  and  Farthings. 
Debates  upon  it  in  the  Commons  of  that  Kingdom. 

[ms.  donat.  6116.  p.  241.] 


DubUn,  Sept.  10^1'.  1723. 
My  very  good  Lord, 
By  the  last  post  I  promised  your  Grace  our  Ad- 
dresses to  His  Majesty  and  the  Lord  Lieutenant,  not 
considering  that  the  former  cannot  be  pubhshed  till 
the  King's  Answer  is  received. 

What  most  alarms  us  is  a  general  apprehension  of 
losing  all  our  Gold  and  Silver  in  exchange  for  Half- 
pence and  Farthings  of  an  adulterated  metal ;  which 
(as  is  computed)  will  carry  oiF above  Seventy  per  Cent, 
if  they  are  allowed  to  pass  current. 

On  this  topic  the  Commons  were  very  warm  yester- 
day ;  and  their  Debates  ended  in  a  Call  of  their  Mem- 
bers, and  the  appointing  a  day  (Friday  se'nnight)  for 
the  consideration  of  that  particular. 

I  am,  my  Lord, 
Your  Grace's  ever  faithful, 

W.    DERRY. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  333 


LETTER  CCCCXLVII. 

The  same  to  the  same.  The  panic  in  Ireland  increases. 
Dean  Sxoift  prints  his  Letters  on  the  subject. 

[MS,  DONAT.  6116.  p.  264.] 


London  Derry,  August  ^l''*.  1724. 
My  very  good  Lord, 
'Tis  an  inexpressible  Ferment  wherein  this  distracted 
Kingdom  is  at  this  present,  on  account  of  a  panic 
fear  which  we  are  under  of  being  ruined  by  Wood''s 
Halfpence.  This  Morning's  Packet  has  brought  us 
printed  Copies  of  the  late  Report  of  the  Committee  of 
your  Council  upon  this  subject ;  which  shows  us  what 
course  is  like  to  be  taken.  As  an  Antidote  against 
this  we  have  had  two  printed  Letters,  generally  sup- 
posed to  be  penned  by  Dean  Jonathan,  animating  all 
our  Farmers,  Shop-keepers,  &c,  peremptorily  to  refuse 
the  acceptance  of  this  Brass-money,  by  what  authority 
soever  countenanced ;  and  (in  plain  terms)  to  shoot 
Mr.  Wood  or  his  accomplices  through  the  head,  when- 
ever any  of  them  shall  dare  to  offer  their  Trash  in 
payment  here.  Nay,  since  the  coming  over  of  the 
Report,  most  of  the  several  Companies  of  Merchants, 
Drapers,  and  other  Tradesmen  in  Dublin,  have  sub- 
scribed a  sort  of  Association  to  this  purpose.     And, 


334  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

since  I  began  to  write  this  Letter,  I  am  told  that  the 
Merchants  in  this  Town  are,  at  this  very  time,  copy- 
ing after  their  betters.  I  have  ventured  (and  a  bold 
venture  it  is)  to  caution  some  of  them  against  engaging 
in  such  a  warm  enterprize. 

My  Lord,  I  cannot  but  vehemently  suspect,  that 
this  evil  spirit  is  raised  by  those  that  hope  for  more 
considerable  outrages  amongst  us ;  especially  when  the 
Insolence  of  our  Popish  Priests  increases  so  visibly 

every  where. 

***** 

Your  Grace''s  most  dutiful  servant, 

W.    DERRY. 


LETTER  CCCCXLVIII. 

The  same  to  the  same.  Leagues  and  Declarations 
among  the  Shopheepers,  ^c.  of  Ireland^  against 
Wood''s  Halfpence. 

[MS.  DONAT.  6116.  p.  286.] 


London  Derry,  Oct.  2<1.  1 724. 

My  VERY  GOOD  Lord, 

*  «  *  #  « 

I  AM  not  surprised  at  your  Grace''s  wondering  at 
our  unaccountable  Warmth  about  Wood's  Halfpence. 
The  matter  seemed  as  strange  to  me ;  and  I  freely  ex- 
pressed my  thoughts  as  long  as  I  durst.     By  degrees 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


335 


we  are  now  come  into  a  general  conflagration.  All  our 
pedlers  and  petit  merchants  are  confederating  into 
solemn  Leagues  and  Covenants  against  the  currency 
of  them.  In  one  of  the  little  borough  towns  of  this 
Diocese  the  shop-keepers  a,nd  ale-drapers  have  sub- 
scribed a  formal  engagement,  wherein  they  abhor,  de- 
test, and  abjure  Mr.  Wood  and  his  Copper,  in  the 
same  words  wherein  their  ringleaders  have  bid  a  de- 
fiance to  the  Pretender  and  his  false  Money. 

This  frenzy  (which  is  indeed  epidemical  throughout 
the  whole  Kingdom)  had  seized  several  of  my  neigh- 
bours in  this  town  :  but  upon  the  application  of  some 
of  the  chief  of  them  for  my  opinion,  a  stop  (I  hope  a 
final  one)  is  put  to  the  progress  of  the  infection  here. 

I  am  told  that  some  Hot-spurs  among  our  Justices 
of  the  Peace  have  drawn  up  a  declaration,  in  the 
fashionable  way,  which  they  design  to  offer  to  their 
brethren  (and  the  Grand  Jury)  at  their  Quarter  Ses- 
sions on  Tuesday  next.  But  half  of  the  Bench  being 
Clergymen,  I  hope  to  suppress  that  also. 

The  Lord  Lieutenant's  coming  (unless  some  comfort 
about  the  Half-pence  be  his  forerunner)  will  be  a  little 
dreaded  by 

Your  Grace's 
ever  dutiful,  grateful,  and 

faithful  servant, 

W.  DERRY. 


336  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCCXLIX. 

The  same  to  the  same.     Further  Associations  against 
the  Currency  of  Woocfs  Money. 

[ms.  DONAT,  6116.  p.  122.] 


London  Derry,  Oct.  30*.  1724. 
My  very  good  Lord, 

My  last  acquainted  your  Grace  that  our  Justices  of 
the  Peace  and  Grand  Juries  were  threatening  to  enter 
into  Covenants  and  Associations  against  the  Currency 
of  these  Halfpence  and  farthings,  according  to  the  pre- 
cedent given  them  by  the  three  Estates  of  the  County 
of  Dublin. 

This  great  example  was  accordingly  followed,  as  I 
am  credibly  informed,  by  all  the  Counties  of  the  Pro- 
vince of  Ulster ;  this  of  London-Derry  only  excepted. 
We  had  not  one  word  said  of  the  matter :  but  some 
of  our  good  neighbours  abundantly  supplied  this  defect. 
They  not  only  covenanted  (after  the  common  form) 
"  never  on  any  pretence  whatever  to  receive  or  pay 
any  of  that  coin,"  but  that  they  would  "  prosecute  to 
the  utmost  all  others  that  should  give  any  countenance 
to  its  currency." 

To  complete  our  security,  our  Spiritual  Draper 
wrote  a  fourth  Letter  on  this  fruitful  subject,  directed 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS.  337 

to  the  whole  people  of  Ireland ;  wherein  he  exhorts 
the  Kingdom  most  stedfastly  to  adhere  to  that  glorious 
combination  whereunto  they  have  thus  bound  them- 
selves.»  This  advice  he  thinks  necessary  at  this  junc- 
ture, because  of  a  report  spread  abroad  that  the  Lord 
Lieutenant  is  coming  over  to  settle  Wood''s  Halfpence. 
In  a  sneering  manner  he  represents  this  as  a  groundless 
falsehood,  and  proves  it  to  be  so  by  (as  sneering) 
panegyrics  on  his  Excellency,  Mr.  Walpole,  &c.  Care 
was  taken  to  publish  this  satire  the  very  day  before 
the  Lord  Lieutenant  landed,  and  within  two  days 
after  it  had  a  second  edition.  This  gallant  patriot 
asserts,  in  words  at  length,  that  Ireland  no  more  de- 
pends on  England  than  England  does  upon  Ireland ; 
that  they  who  assert  the  contrary,  talk  without  any 
ground  of  law,  reason,  or  common-sense ;  that  the  Par- 
liaments of  England  have  sometimes  assumed  a  power 
of  binding  this  Kingdom  by  laws  enacted  there ;  but 
this  has  been  opposed  by  invincible  arguments,  from 
truth,  justice,  and  reason,  &c. 

Thus,  my  Lord,  we  are  come  to  the  highest  round 
in  our  ladder ;  and  if  no  mark  be  set  on  this  insolent 


•  When  a  reward  was  offered  for  the  discovery  of  the  Author  of  the  Drapier's 
Fourth  Letter,  a  Note  was  sent  to  Swift  with  the  following  text  from  l  Sam. 
chap.  xiv.  V.  4S.  "  And  the  people  said  unto  Saul,  shall  Jonathan  die,  who  hath 
wrought  this  great  salvation  in  Israel  ?  God  forbid.  As  the  Lord  liveth,  there  shall 
not  one  hair  of  his  head  fall  to  the  ground ;  for  he  wrought  with  God  this  day.  So 
the  people  rescued  Jonathan  that  he  died  not."  U  was  said  to  have  been  written  by 
a  Quaker. 

VOL.  IV.    SEU.  2.  Z 


338  ORIGINAL    LETTEES. 

writer,  little  safety  will  be  expected  (but  in  your 
prayers)  by 

Your  Grace's  ever  dutiful  servant, 

W.  DERRY. 


LETTER  CCCCL. 


The  same  to  the  same.  The  Address  of  the  Irish  Par- 
liament upon  his  Majesty' s  favour  in  the  matter  of 
Wood'^s  Patent. 

[MS.  DONAT.  6116.  p.  284.] 


Dublin,  Sept.  21st.  1725. 
My  very  good  Lord, 
Upon  this  day's  delivery  of  the  enclosed  Speech 
from  the  Throne  (which  was  done  with  as  graceful  an 
emphasis  as  I  ever  heard)  Addresses  to  his  Majesty 
and  the  Lord  Lieutenant  were  immediately  resolved 
on,  in  terms  as  dutiful  and  respectful  as  could  be  de- 
sired :  but  upon  appointment  of  Committees  to  draw 
up  those,  instructions  were  offered  which  look  per- 
plexing, and  occasioned  long  debates.  His  Majesty's 
Royal  favour  and  condescension  in  the  matter  of 
Wood's  Patent  was  not  thought  to  be  sufficient  to  bear 
the  whole  weight  of  our  acknowledgments,  unless  his 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  339 

Wisdom  was  also  allowed  its  share.  The  meaning 
of  that  word  on  this  occasion  was  plainly  discernible. 
However,  a  majority  carried  the  Amendment :  but,  we 
hope,  that  either  the  Committee  or  the  House  itself  (on 
second  thoughts)  will  throw  it  out.* 

This  struggle  has  kept  us  so  late,  that  I  am  hardly 
able  to  subscribe  myself 

Your  Grace''s  most  dutiful  servant, 

W.  DERRY. 


LETTER  CCCCLI. 


The  Duke  of  Wharton  to  Lady  Jane  Holt  Ms  sister. 
Endeavours  to  extenuate  his  conduct. 

[hs.  sovat.  6416.  foL  5.  Orig.] 

*(,*  Philip  second  IVIarquesa  of  Wharton,  was  created  Duke  of 
Wharton  by  King  George  the  First.  The  life  of  this  distinguished 
nobleman  was  a  continued  scene  of  eccentricity. 

Salmon,  in  his  Chronological  Historian,  vol.  ii.  p.  166,  says,  *'  1726, 
June  10"".  A  Messenger  having  been  sent  to  Madrid  with  a  Letter 
under  the  privy  seal,  from  his  IMajesty  to  the  Duke  of  M'^harton,  com- 
manding the  Duke  to  return  to  England,  his  Grace,  being  in  a  coach 
when  it  was  delivered  to  him,  contemptuously  threw  it  into  the  street 
without  opening  it,  and  soon  after,  it  is  said,  declared  himself  a  Roman 
Catholic."  The  latter  part  of  this  statement  is  disproved  by  the  fol- 
lowing Letter. 

Pope  says,  He  died 

"  sad  outcast  of  each  Church  and  State." 

At  his  death  in  1731,  the  title  became  extinct 

•  It  was  afterwards  thrown  out  by  a  majority  in  the  Lords  of  twenty-one  to  twelve. 

z2 


340  original  letters. 

Dear  Sister, 

My  name  has  been  so  often  mentioned  in  the  public 
Prints,  and  consequently  become  the  subject  of  private 
conversation,  that  my  personal  friends  (you  particu- 
larly) may  with  reason  expect  to  know  from  myself 
what  steps  I  have  taken  or  intend  to  take,  and 
the  true  reasons  of  my  present  resolution.  As  to 
the  reasons  of  my  conduct  I  do  not  think  it  proper 
to  write  them  directly  to  You,  I  must  refer  you  to 
some  papers  you  will  soon  see  published  through  all 
Europe;  I  will  not  trust  the  good  manners,  or  the 
good  nature  of  my  enemies  by  writing  any  thing  to 
you  that  might  expose  you  to  trouble,  for  it  would 
sharpen  the  prosecutions  begun  against  me,  if  you 
should  suffer  the  least  inconvenience  from  tenderness 
to  me.  Whatever  relates  to  myself  gives  me  no  un- 
easiness. Every  virulent  vote,  every  passionate  re- 
proach, and  every  malicious  calumny  against  me,  are 
so  many  real  commendations  of  my  conduct,  and  while 
you  and  my  sister  Lucy  are  permitted  to  live  quietly 
and  securely,  I  shall  think  our  Family  has  met  with  no 
misfortune,  and  has  therefore  no  claim  to  the  com- 
passion of  its  truest  friends. 

I  know  your  tender  concern  and  affection  for  me, 
and  write  chiefly  to  give  you  comfort,  not  to  receive 
any  from  You ;  for  I  thank  God  that  I  have  an  easy 
contented  mind,  and  that  I  want  no  comfort.     I  have 


ORIGINAL    LETTEltS.  341 

some  hopes,  I  have  no  fears ;  which  is  more  than  some 
of  your  Norfolk  neighbours  can  say  of  themselves. 

I  desire  your  prayers  for  the  success  of  my  wishes 
and  prosperity  of  our  Family ;  I  scorn  the  false  pre- 
tended compassion  of  my  enemies,  and  it  would  grieve 
me  much  more  to  receive  the  real  pity  of  my  friends. 

I  shall  not  wonder  if,  at  first,  you  should  be  affected 
with  the  warmth  of  the  Proceeding  against  me,  and 
should  shew  some  concern  at  the  attempts  to  strip  our 
family  of  its  title,  and  to  rob  them  of  their  estates ;  but 
you  will  soon  change  your  mind,  when  you  consider 
that  my  real  honour  does  not  depend  on  Walpole  or 
his  master's  pleasure,  that  a  faction  may  attaint  a  man 
without  corrupting  his  blood,  and  that  an  estate  seized 
by  violence  and  arbitrary  [power]  is  not  irrecoverably 
lost.  The  word  late  is  now  become  the  most  honour- 
able epithet  of  the  Peerage,  it  is  a  higher  title  than 
that  of  Grace,  and  whenever  you  hear  me  spoke  of  in 
that  manner,  I  beg  you  to  think  as  I  do,  that  I  have 
received  a  new  marlc  of  honour,  a  mark  dignified  by 
the  Duke  of  Ormond,  Earl  Marischal,=>  and  others. 

You  that  have  often  read  Clarendon''s  History  must 
know  that  during  the  reign  of  Cromwell  and  the  Rump 
Parliament,  the. whole  Peerage  of  England  was  styled 
THE  LATE  HousE  OF  LoRDS  ;  there  was  then  no  want 
of  late  DuJces,  late  Earls,  and  late  Bishops,  and  wliy 
should  that  be  reckoned  a  reproach  to  a  single  Peer, 

•  of  the  Uarl  Marischall  a  further  incnlioii  will  cx:cur  hereafter, 


342  ORIGINAL    LETTERS.       - 

which  was  then  the  distinguishing  title  to  the  whole 
body  ?    Was  that  usurper  Cromwell  the  fountain  of 
honour  ?    Had  he  who  murdered  one  King  any  more 
power  to  taint  the  blood  of  his  fellow  subjects,  than  his 
illustrious  successor  who  has  fixed  a  price  on  the  Head 
of  another  ?    For  as  Lord  Harcourt  finely  observes  in 
his  Speech  on  Dr.  Sacheverel,  there  is  little  or  no  dif- 
ference between  a  wet  Martyrdom  or  a  dry  one.    Can 
a  High  Commission  Court  at  present,  or  a  Secret  Com- 
mittee, tarnish  the  honour  of  a  family?    Is  it  a  real 
disgrace  to  be  condemned  by  Macclesfield,  Harcourt, 
Townshend,  or  Trevor  ?  Is  it  a  dishonour  to  be  robbed 
of  a  private  fortune  by  those  who  have  stript  the  widow 
and  the  fatherless .''  who  have  sold  their  Country  ?  who 
have   plundered  the   public?     No,  my  dear  Sister, 
assure  yourself  that  this  unjust  Prosecution  is  a  lasting 
monument  erected  to  the  honour  of  our  family ;  it  will 
serve  to  render  it  illustrious  to  after  ages,  to  atone  for 
the  unhappy  mistakes  of  any  of  our  misguided  ances- 
tors.    If  it  should  end  with  me,  it  will,  however,  have 
outlived  the  Liberties  of  England. 

Those  honours  which  we  received  at  first  from  the 
Crown,  can  never  be  more  gloriously  interred  than  in 
the  defence  of  the  injured  rights  of  the  Crown ;  than 
in  the  cause  of  the  rightful  Monarch  of  Britain,  the 
greatest  of  Princes  and  the  best  of  Masters. 

But  I  forget  myself  by  enlarging  too  far  on  a  sub- 
ject that  may  not  be  so  conveniently  mentioned  in  a 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS.  343 

Letter  to  you ;  my  zeal  for  my  Country,  my  duty  to 
my  Sovereign,  my  affection  to  You,  and  my  respect  to 
my  Family  and  its  true  honour,  have  carried  on  my  pen 
farther  than  I  intended.    I  will  only  add  that  no  change 
in  my  circumstances  ever  shall  lessen  my  tender  con- 
cern for  you  or  my  sister  Lucy,  to  whom  I  desire  you 
would  present  my  love,  and  charge  her  as  she  values 
my  friendship  never  to  marry  without  my  consent.    Be 
assured  that  no  distance  of  place,  nor  length  of  time,  shall 
abate  my  affection  for  you,  and  my  enemies  shall  find 
whenever  I  return  to  England,  it  shall  be  with  honour 
to  myself  and  with  joy  to  my  friends ;  to  all  those  I 
mean  who  wish  well  to  the  Church  of  England,  and  to 
their  native  Country.     Neither  shall  any  thing  tempt 
me  to  abandon  that  cause  which  I  have  so  deliberately 
embraced,  or  to  forsake  that  Religion  in  which  I  was 
educated.     Wherever  I  am,  I  shall  be  always,  dear 
Sister, 

Your  sincere  friend  and  brother, 

WHARTON. 

Madrid,  June  the  17"'.  N.  S. 
1726. 

To  Lady  Jane  Holt. 


i 


LETTERS 


THE  REIGN  OF 


KING  GEORGE  THE  SECOND. 


In  this  as  in  some  preceding  Reigns,  the  topics  on  which  the  Letters 
treat  are  few,  and  they  relate  chiefly  to  the  latter  part  only  of  Kino 
George  the  Second's  time. 

The  murder  of  Capt.  Porteus  in  1736,  the  Rebellion  of  1745,  the 
robbery  of  the  English  Courier  at  the  Gate  of  Berlin,  and  the  Fate  of 
Byng,  are  the  most  prominent  subjects. 

Next  to  these,  the  Letters  of  Mr.  Pitt,  afterwards  Earl  of  Chatham, 
the  pardon  of  the  Lord  Marischall,  and  the  proof  that  Voltaire  drew 
secrets  from  the  King  of  Prussia  for  the  Court  of  France,  are  perhaps 
the  most  attractive.  Frederick  the  Great's  laconic  character  of  Voltaire 
will  not  be  overlooked. 


OUIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCCLII. 

M(v)or  General  Moyle  to  the  Duke  of  Newc^tle, 
the  Seizure  and  Execution  of  Captain  Fvrteous  by 
the  Mob  at  Edinburgh. 

[hS.  HARL.  MUS.  BRIT.  7187-] 

*^»  The  Case  of  Captain  Porteous  was  one  of  extraordinary  interest 
at  its  time.  As  Captain  Lieutenant  of  the  City  Guard  of  Edinbui^h  he 
was  charged  with,  and  adjudged  guilty  of  firing  upon  the  populace 
without  order  from  the  M^istrates,  upon  an  attempt  of  the  mob  to  seize 
the  body  of  a  culprit  whose  execution  had  just  taken  place,  April  IS"". 
1736.  On  July  the  20">.  he  was  sentenced  to  die.  Circumstances  which 
were  subsequently  brought  to  light,  appeared  to  lessen  his  guilt,  and 
Queen  Caroline,  who  was  then  Guardian  of  the  Realm,  sent  a  reprieve 
for  six  weeks,  which  it  was  thought  would  be  followed  by  a  change  of 
the  sentence  to  transportation.  His  execution  stood  fixed,  upon  the 
expiration  of  the  reprieve,  for  the  8"".  of  September.  Upon  the  night  of 
the  7"'.  as  will  be  seen  in  the  following  Letter,  the  populace  seized  the 
Toll-booth  by  surprise,  found  the  prisoner,  and  hurried  him  by  torch- 
light to  the  Grass-market,  where  throwing  a  rope  over  a  sign-post  twenty 
feet  high,  belonging  to  a  dyer,  near  the  ordinary  place  of  execution,  they 
pulled  him  up,  but  his  hands  being  loose,  he  fixed  them  between  his  neck 
and  the  rope,  so  that  the  mob  were  obliged  to  let  him  down  again. 
Having  on  two  shirts,  they  wrapped  one  about  his  face,  tied  his  arms 
with  the  night-gown  he  had  on,  pulled  him  up  again,  and  completed 
his  execution. 


.     Edinburgh,  9'''.  September,  1736. 
My  Loud, 
I  THINK  it  my  duty  to  acquaint  your  Grace  with 
what  happened  here  last  Tuesday  night,  about  a  quar- 
ter of  an  hour  after  ten.  Being  then  hi  my  bed,  Colonel 


348  OUIGINAL    LETTERS. 

Pears,  who  commands    General  Sabine's  regiment  in 
the   Canongate,   came  and  told   me   he   heard  there 
was  a  great  disturbance  in  the  City,  on  which  I  imme- 
diately ordered  him  to  assemble  the  six  Companies 
quartered  here,  and  to  parade  them  near  the  Guard  in 
the  Canongate,  and  to  send  for  the  three  Companies 
from  Leith,  which  was  done  with  as  much  expedition 
as  possible,  for  some  of  the  Companies  are  quartered 
at  a  great  distance  from  the  Canongate.     I 'dressed 
myself  as  soon  as  possible,  in  order  to  join  the  regiment. 
I  was  scarce  dressed  when  Mr.  Lindesay  came  to  me, 
and  told  me  there  was  a  great  mob  in  the  City.    It  then 
wanted  about  fourteen  minutes  of  eleven ;  he  assured 
me  they  had  got  possession  of  the  City  gates,  and  that 
with  much  difficulty  he  got  out  by  a  small  wicket, 
and  was  obliged  to  come  round  by  the  King's  Park. 
He  made  no  demand  of  a  guard  to  assist  them,  but  I 
told  him  I  had  ordered  the  regiment  to  be  under  arms, 
but  that  I  could  not  force  any  of  the  Town  gates, 
or  give  orders  for  attacking  the  mob,  without  legal 
authority  from  the  Lord  Justice-Clerk,  or  some  other 
of  the  Lords  of  the  Justiciary  ;  for  it  was  from  one  of 
them  I  had  received  all  orders  relating  to  the  military 
since  I  came  into  the  Country.     I  then  asked  Mi'. 
Lindesay  if  Lord  Justice-Clerk,  or  any  other  of  the 
Lords  of  the  Justiciary  were  in  town  ?  His  answer  was 
that  neither  the  Justice-Clerk  nor  Lord  Royston  was  in 
town ;  but  Lord  Newhall  was,  but  there  was  no  getting 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  349 

to  him.  On  which,  knowing  the  Justice-Clerk  lived 
but  two  miles  and  an  half  off  the  town,  I  desired  Mr. 
Lindesay  to  write  immediately  to  him  for  his  directions, 
what  he  would  have  the  Troops  do  ;  and  sent  the  letter 
by  my  own  servant,  who  gallopped  all  the  way.  My 
Lord  being  in  bed,  he  got  no  answer  from  him  till  neat- 
one  o'clock  :  the  letter  was  directed  to  Mr.  Lindesay, 
so  I  never  saw  the  answer ;  and  long  before  it  came,  the 
poor  man  was  hanged  by  the  mob.  By  what  I  since 
hear,  he  was  executed  before  Mr.  Lindesay  came  to 
my  house ;  for  they  got  him  out  of  prison  a  little  after 
ten.  It  was  a  great  oversight  that  the  poor  man  was 
not  put  into  the  Castle  as  soon  as  his  reprieve  came  for 
him ;  that  being  the  only  place  to  secure  him  from  the 
rage  of  the  mob.  This  unheard-of  barbarity  had 
been  concerting  several  days,  and  I  am  surprized  the 
Magistrates  were  not  more  on  their  guard.  The 
Town-soldiers,  instead  of  resisting,  delivered  their 
arms  to  the  mob ;  the  Turnkey  of  the  Prison  owned 
he  had  a  hint  given  him  in  the  morning,  that  the  Pri- 
son would  be  attempted  to  be  broke  open  that  night, 
and  that  he  acquainted  the  Gaoler  of  it,  and  desired 
him  to  make  it  known  to  the  Lord  Provost,  that  care 
might  be  taken  to  prevent  it.  The  Magistrates  were 
drinking  together  in  the  Parliament-close  when  the 
mob  first  assembled,  but  did  not  care  to  read  the  pro- 
clamation, which  was  a  very  great  neglect  in  them. 


850  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

On  their  suspecting  the  mob  would  rise  that  night, 
the  care  of  the  Port  next  to  the  Canongate,  ought  to 
have  been  immediately  put  under  the  guard  of  the 
King's  forces,  and  then  the  communication  between 
the  City  and  Suburbs  would  have  been  kept  open.  I 
have  to  add,  that  had  the  Troops  forced  their  way  into 
the  town  by  demolishing  one  of  the  gates,  without  a 
egal  authority,  your  Grace  would  soon  have  had  a 
terrible  complaint  from  the  Magistrates.  The  regiment 
here  are  much  fatigued,  having  lain  two  nights  on 
their  arms.  I  cannot  but  mention  to  your  Grace 
that  this  is  the  third  prisoner,  within  the  memory  of 
man,  that  has  been  taken  out  of  the  Tolbooth  here, 
and  barbarously  murdered  by  the  mob.  They  charge 
me  with  procuring  Porteous's  reprieve,  and  threaten 
to  murder  me  in  my  bed  or  set  fire  to  my  house;  but  I 
despise  them  all.  I  don't  hear  that  any  of  the  crimi- 
nals are  yet  apprehended,  though  well  known  by  many 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town. 

.  I  am,  &c.  ^ 

JOHN    MOYLE. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.         .  361 


LETTER  CCCCLIII. 


Dr.  Edward  Chandler  ^  Bishop  of  Durham,  apparently 
to  the  Archdeacon  of  Northumberland.  The  Rebels 
approaching  ^om  the  North,  The  spirit  of  the 
different  Counties. 

[us.  DONAT.  6484.  Orig.'] 


15*  Oct.  174.5. 
Mr.  Archdeacon, 

In  answer  to  yours  concerning  Mr.  Brown''s  Ordi- 
nation, I  am  to  acquaint  you  that  his  Instruments  that 
he  sent  up  are  right. 

#  #  #  #        '    # 

You  have  surely  done  your  part  in  contributing 
largely  in  two  Counties,  and  it  is  a  commendable  cau- 
tion to  remove  your  family  to  Durham,  for  fear  of  a 
sui-prize.  A  single  man  can  upon  a  little  notice  scam- 
per off.  But  to  tell  you  my  opinion,  I  believe  if  the 
Rebels  be  not  already  advanced  to  the  South,  they 
will  have  no  stomach  hereafter  to  such  an  expedition. 
For  Mr.  Wade  with  his  forces  will  be  to-morrow  at 
North  Allerton,  and  then  he  will  be  too  near  the  bor- 
ders of  Scotland  for  them  to  look  him  in  the  face.  It 
is  said  Lockheart  hath  detached  his  Clan  from  the  Pre- 
tender, and  is  himself  on  the  road  to  London  to  claim 


352  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

the  benefit  of  His  Majesty's  Proclamation.    Others  are 
said  to  be  gone  home  also  with  their  plunder. 

We  hear  E.  Marshall  is  one  of  the  persons  con- 
cealed in  the  Spanish  ship  taken  by  the  Bristol  pri- 
vateer, and  that  the  Plot  begins  to  be  unravelled, 
wherein  Papists  of  rank  are  said  to  be  concerned.  I 
hear  of  no  others.  General  Cope  and  Col.  Fowke  are 
sent  for  up,  to  be  tried  by  a  Court  Martial,  and  it  is 
thought  this  is  to  lead  the  way  to  some  Impeachment. 
We  hear  the  English  forces  from  Williamstadt  are 
landed  about  Newcastle ;  if  so  I  hope  both  Northum- 
berland and  Durham  will  be  more  than  sufficiently 
secured :  and  the  burden  of  the  Associations  be  soon 
ended.  It  is  a  noble  spirit  that  reigns  in  all  the  Coun- 
ties, but  unless  the  troops  can  be  put  under  a  proper 
regulation  and  discipline,  they  cannot  stand  before  a 
body  of  Highlanders.  They  have,  however,  their  use 
to  prevent  plundering  by  parties. 

I  doubt  not  but  Providence  will  protect  you  where- 
ever  you  stay,  or  go :  nor  need  you  be  too  scrupulous 
about  leaving  your  Parish,  when  your  stated  time  and 
business  call  you  elsewhere.  I  hope  you  will  attend 
the  Ordination,  and  am. 

Sir, 
Your  affectionate  brother  and  servant, 

E.    DURESME. 


ORTflTNAL    LETTERS.  358 


LETTER  CCCCLIV. 

Duncan  Forbes  Lord  President  of  the  Court  of  Session 
in  Scotland^  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  The  State  of  Edin- 
burgh after  the  Successes  of  the  Rebels  there  and  at 
Preston  Pans. 

[fBO>I    the    PAPEHS    of   ANDREW    MITCHELL,    ESQ.    AFTEBWARDS 
SIR  ANDREW   MITCHELL.  BRIT.    MU3.] 

*0*  Andrew  Mitchell,  Esq.  afterwards  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell,  K.  B. 
from  whose  Correspondence  this  and  numerous  other  lietters  have  been 
copied  for  the  present  Series,  was  Under  Secretary,  from  1743  to  1745, 
to  the  Marquess  of  Tweedale  then  Secretary  of  State  for  Scotland,  whose 
Office  was  suppressed  in  the  latter  year.  In  1750  Mr.  Mitchell  became 
Member  of  Parliament  for  Aberdeenshire;  and  in  175G  went  as  His 
Britannick  Majesty's  Envoy  extraordinary  and  plenipotentiary  to  the 
Court  of  Berlin,  where  he  remained,  with  a  short  interval,  till  his  death, 
Jan.  28"'.  1771. 

Few  readers  need  to  be  told  wlio  was  Duncan  Forbes.  "  I  knew 
and  venerated  the  man,"  says  Bishop  Warburton,  "  one  of  the  greatest 
that  ever  Scotland  bred,  both  as  a  judge,  a  patriot,  and  a  christian."  He 
was  bom  at  Culloden  in  1G85,  was  appointed  Solicitor-general  of  Scot- 
land in  1717,  member  for  Inverness  in  1722,  Lord  Advocate  in  1726,  and 
in  1742  liord  President  of  the  Court  of  Session.  In  the  rebellion  of  1745 
he  mortgaged  his  estate  to  support  the  Government.  The  refusal  of  the 
English  ftlinistry  to  repay  the  expenses  he  had  incurred  is  said  to  have 
shortened  his  life.     He  died  in  1747,  at  the  age  of  sixty-two. 


Culloden,  13'''.  November,  1 745. 
My  Dear  Andrew, 
I  AM  mortally  tired  with  writing  a  Letter  to  the 
Marquis  of  an  immoderate  length,  and  in  a  hand  so 

VOL.  IV.    SER.  2.  A   A 


354  ORTGINAI,    LETTERS. 

like  Arabic,  that  I  doubt  your  help  will  be  wanted  to 
decypher  it.  But  it  was  impossible  to  make  it  shorter, 
and  I  am  but  a  bad  scribe :  besides  that,  I  have  much 
more  business  on  my  hands  at  present  to  disturb  my 
attention  than  I  should  have  had,  if  the  Rebels  had 
permitted  me  to  go  through  the  course  of  the  Session 
at  Edinburgh. 

When  I  came  first  to  this  Country,  though  I  was 
not  just  treading  in  the  path  of  a  Chief  Justice,  the 
prospect  was  very  flattering,  and  the  errand  I  came  on 
had  no  appearance  of  difficulty ;  but  the  rebels'  suc- 
cesses at  Edinburgh  and  Preston  Pans  soon  changed 
the  scene.  All  Jacobites,  how  prudent  soever,  became 
mad ;  all  doubtful  people  became  Jacobites ;  and  all 
bankrupts  became  Heroes,  and  talked  of  nothing  but 
of  hereditary  right  and  victory :  and  what  was  more 
grievous  to  those  of  gallantry,  and  if  you  will  believe 
me  much  more  mischievous  to  the  public,  all  the  fine 
Ladies,  if  you  will  except  one  or  two,  became  pas- 
sionately fond  of  the  young  Adventurer,  and  used  all 
their  arts  and  industry  for  him  in  the  most  intemperate 
manner.  Under  these  circumstances  I  found  myself 
almost  alone ;  without  troops,  without  arms,  without 
money  or  credit ;  provided  with  no  means  to  prevent 
extreme  folly,  except  pen  and  ink,  a  tongue,  and  some 
reputation  ;  and,  if  you  will  except  Macleod,  whom  I 
sent  for  from  the  Isle  of  Skye,  supported  by  nobody  of 
common  sense  or  courage.     Had  Arms  and  Money 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  355 

come  when  they  were  first  called  for,  before  these 
unexpected  successes  blew  up  folly  into  madness,  I 
could  have  answered  it  with  my  head,  that  no  man 
from  the  North  should  have  joined  the  original  flock 
of  Rebels  that  crossed  the  Forth ;  and  even  as  it  has 
happened,  it  is  no  small  consolation  to  me,  that  except 
Macpherson  of  Cluny,  whose  force  does  not  exceed  three 
hundred,  none  from  the  North  have  reached  theni  in 
time  to  march  along  with  them  Southward  from  Edin- 
burgh ;  that  no  more  than  about  two  hundred  of  the 
Clan  Chattan^  have  marched,  who  had  got  as  last  Satur- 
day no  farther  than  Perth,  and  that  notwithstanding 
the  restless  endeavours  of  the  Earl  of  "Cromarty,  the 
Master  of  Lovat,  and  others,  no  more  than  a  hundred 
and  fifty  or  a  hundred  and  sixty  of  the  Mackenzies 
have  been  debouched,  and  that  even  those  have  not  as 
yet  passed  the  Corryarcck,  no  more  than  the  Erasers, 
who  to  the  number  of  five  or  six  hundred  have  flocked 
to  arms,  and  who  possibly  may  think  better,  if  the 
weather  permit  the  force  which  we  hourly  expect 
from  the  Isle  of  Skye  to  join  us  quickly,  before  they 
leave  their  country  exposed.  By  this  diversion,  his 
Majesty ""s  army  will  have  a  much  smaller  body  of 
Highlanders  to  deal  with  to  the  Southward  than  other- 
wise they  should  have  had;  and,  if  a  small  number  of 
troops  could  be  spared  from  it  to  take  possession  of 

*  The  Clan  Chattan  consisted  of  Sixteen  Tribes,  each  havin;;  their  own  chief- 
tain, but  all  voluntarily  united  under  the  government  of  one  leader,  tlie  Laird  of 
Mat  kintosli.    Sec  the  ."Statist.  Ace.  of  Si-otl.  vol.  viii.  p.  io(>. 

A   A  Je 


356  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

Edinburgh,  and  to  secure  the  fords  of  the  Firth,  as, 
on  the  one  hand,  the  small  numbers  of  Highlanders 
that  are  marching  towards  Edinburgh  could  not  join 
their  brethren,  so,  on  the  other,  the  retreat  of  those  that 
have  marched  towards  England  would  be  cut  off. 
But  this,  if  practicable,  has  doubtless  been  done  before 
this  time. 

As  to  the  Independent  Companies,  I  have  disposed 
of  such  of  them  as  are  hitherto  given  with  the  greatest 
discretion  I  was  master  of,  following  this  rule,  to  be- 
stow them  on  such  as  could  be  trusted  and  could  the 
most  quickly  bring  the  men  together  for  the  service. 
I  shall  have  a  dozen  of  them  together  soOn,  and  some 
more  in  a  little  time ;  and  in  this  operation  I  should 
have  succeeded  better,  but  for  the  folly  and  roguery 
of  mankind,  which  finds  many  ways  of  exerting  itself. 
You  will  naturally  observe  that  the  cutting  off  the 
communication  with  the  rest  of  Scotland,  confined  the 
nomination  of  the  officers  of  those  companies  to  the 
North.  E.  Loudon's  arrival  has  been  a  vast  relief  to 
me;  his  skill  and  diligence  joined  to  patience  and  a  very 
obliging  behaviour,  must  be  of  very  great  service  to 
the  public  at  this  juncture,  when  those  talents  are  so 
much  wanted  and  so  scarce. 

As  I  am  pretty  much  fatigued  with  wielding  the 
pen,  give  me  leave  to  conclude ;  but  before  I  do  so,  to 
put  you  in  mind  that  I  have  hardly  seen  a  common 
London  Print  for  a  month;  that  I  know  nothing  of 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS.  357 

what  is,  or  has  been  doing  in  the  world  for  these  three 
months  past;   and  that  any  thing  that  you  may  be 
pleased  to  entertain  me  with  in  my  Lord  Marquis's 
packet  will  come  probably  safe.     I  dare  say  you  will- 
put  his  Lordship  in  mind  of  despatching  what  in  mine 
to  him  is  suggested,  if  he  should  stand  in  need  of  a 
monitor,  which  I  am  confident  he  will  not. 
I  am,  my  dear  Andrew, 
truly  yours, 

.DUN.  FORBES. 


LETTER  CCCCLV. 


Duncan  Forbes,  Lord  President,  to  Mr.  Mitchell. 
Mr.  Gordon.  The  want  of  supplies  wherewith  to 
oppose  the  Rebels. 

[MITCHELL   PAPEnS,   BRIT.  MUS.    Orig.] 


Cullodcn,  22  Dec.  1745. 

*  *  #  *  # 

As  to  Mr.  Grordon,  who  seems  to  be  a  pretty  young 

man,  he  may  be  sure  of  my  best  offices.     Though  upon 

the  plan  which  the  necessity  of  the  service  obliged  me 

to  pursue,  in  raising  the  Independent  Companies,  which 


358  OKIGINAL    LETTp;ilS. 

was  to  give  the  nomination  of  the  officers  to  the  well 
affected  Chiefs  who  could  instantly  produce  the  Com- 
panies, it  was  not  possible  to  give  him  a  commission ; 
I  have,  however,  recommended  him  in  the  strongest 
manner  to  E.  Loudon,  whom  he  will  attend  in  the 
remainder  of  this  ill-favoured  campaign;  and  what 
service  I  can  do  him  shall  not  be  wanting. 

I  am  obliged  to  you  for  yours  of  the  7'^  which 
came  by  a  sloop  from  Leith,  despatched  by  the  Soli- 
citor, because  it  gives  me  notice  that  what  I  wrote  by 
the  Salbach  is  come  to  hand,  and  hopes  that  some  time 
or  another  the  siipplies  sought  may  come  under  con- 
sideration and  be  ordered.     Though  give  me  leave  to 
tell  you,  my  dear  Andrew,  it  is  somewhat  mortifying, 
that  when  men  are  exposing  themselves  as  we  are  doing 
in  this  Country,  and  thereby  doing  what  we  know  to 
be  very  essential  to  the  Government,  our  safety,  if  no 
more  were  in  the  question,  is  so  slightly  treated,  and 
this  Country  left  unguarded,  to  be  possibly  the  seat 
for  some  months  of  a  War  that  may  cost  Britain  im- 
mense sums  and  very  great  danger,  when  small  atten- 
tion and  the  timely  supply  of  a  few  thousand  stand  of 
arms,  and  a  few  thousand  pounds,  would  in  all  human 
appearance  prevent  such  fatal  consequence.      It  sur- 
prized me,  I  own,  to  find  in  neither  of  the  packets  to 
me  any  letter  from  my  Lord  Marquis,  though  there 
was  one  to  the  Moderator  of  the  Synod  of  Murray,  in 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  359 

answer  to  a  letter  with  an  address  which  was  trans- 
mitted along  with  my  last  despatch. 

This  must  have  been  owing  wholly  to  some  acci- 
dental mistake  in  mislaying  the  Letter,  if  any  such  was 
written,  or  more  probably  to  the  hurry  the  ministers 
may  have  been  in,  which  prevented  their  taking  time 
to  come  to  resolutions,  and  give  directions  on  the  de- 
mands I  made ;  the  nearness  of  the  danger,  which  at 
that  time  was  approaching  London,  may  have  been  the 
cause  why  they  overlooked  one  that  was  more  remote. 
But  as  that  alarm  must  have  worn  off'  in  a  day  or  two 
at  farthest  after  the  date  of  your  last,  I  am  hopeful 
they  have  before  this  time  thought  in  good  earnest  of 
our  case,  and  sent  us  the  supply  desired ;  if  they  have 
not,  the  consequences  will,  I  am  afraid,  be  severely 
felt ;  as,  besides  the  want  of  arms,  our  money  is  almost 
spent.  But  if  this  have  a  quick  passage,  and  if  upon  the 
receipt  of  it  the  supplies  are  immediately  despatched, 
they  may  happen  to  come  before  it  is  too  late ;  especially 
if  the  Rebels  choose  to  make  a  stand  for  any  time  at 
Perth. 

To  understand  distinctly  what  I  write,  with  the 
reason  for  writing  so,  you  must  consider  my  letter  to 
my  Lord  Marquis  of  this  date,  which  I  presume  you 
will  sec,  and  my  reason  for  writing  to  you  so  urgently 
on  this  subject  in  terms  which  might  possibly  be  not 
altogether  so  proper  to  put  in  a  letter  to  his  Lordship, 
which  may  be  seen  by  other  eyes,  is,  that  my  Lord  may 
know  and  be  able  to  express  to  the  Ministers  who  must 


860  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

cooperate  with  him,  the  sense  I  have,  and  which  I  fear 
all  those  who  act  along  with  me  generously  in  this 
Country  will  soon  have,  of  the  neglect  with  which  we 
are  treated,  if  what  I  complain  of  is  not  speedily  re- 
medied. I  have  nothing  further  to  say,  my  dear  An- 
drew, but  that 

I  am  sincerely  yours, 

DUN.  FORDES. 


Br  the  kindness  of  his  friend  Edward  Hawkins,  Esq.  the  Editor  is 
here  enabled  to  lay  before  the  Reader  a  List  of  the  various  IMedals, 
struck  in  England  and  elsewhere,  connected  ■with  the  History  o/"King 
James  the  Second's  Aldication,  the  Birth  of  his  Son,  and  tJie  Efforts 
and  Sufferings  of  his  Family  till  their  extinction :  including  various 
Medals  of  Louis  the  XIV"".  K.  William  the  IIP.  Queen  Anne,  and 
William  Duke  of  Cumberland,  bearing  upon  the  same  subjects.  The 
Reader  will  observe  that  upon  the  ]\Iedals  of  the  Son  of  James  the  II''. 
the  date  of  his  birth  on  those  struck  in  England  is  the  10"".  upon  the 
Foreign  Medals  20"'  of  June :  being  occasioned  by  the  difference  of  the 
stiles  then  In  use. 

1.  An  infant,  reclining  upon  a  state  cradle,  strangles  a  serpent  in  each  hand; 
the  ground  strewed  with  fragments  of  slaughtered  serpents.  Leg.  MONSTRIS  . 
DANT  .  FVNERA  .  CVN.E.  Rev.  The  Prince's  Plume.  Leg.  FVLTA  .  TRIBVS  . 
METVENDA  .  CORONA.  Ex.  1688.  Diam.  1^.  Cabinets.  Royal.  B.  Mus. 
Dr.  Hunter.    Edw.  Hawkins,  Esq.  arg. 

2.  Armorial  shield  of  the  P»ince  of  Wales,  crowned,  supported  by  four  infant  genii, 
one  of  whom  holds  the  Prince's  plume,  another  the  ducal  shield  of  Cornwall.  Leg. 
HONOR.  PRIN.  MAG.  BRIT.  FRA.  ET.  HIB.  NAT.  10.  IVN.  1688.  Rev.  the 
ijifant  Prince  reclining  on  a  cushion :  above,  two  infant  genii  with  trumpets  hold  a 
crown  and  palm  branch,  and  support  a  band  inscribed,  VENIAT  .  CENTESIMVS  . 
HiERES.    Diam.  1^^.    Cab.  Dr.  Hunter,  arg. 

3.  Busts,  to  the  right,  of  James  H.  and  Q.  Mary ;  shoulders  mantled ;  the  King  lau- 
reate. Leg.  lACOBVS.lI.  M.  BRIT.  REX.  MARIA.  M.  BRIT.  REG.  Rev.  a  Map 
of  ANGLI  A,  SCOTIA,  HIBERNI  A,  whence  storms  are  retiring  westward,  as  theSun 
rises.  Leg.  ILLAS  FVGAT  .  RECREAT  ISTAS.  Ex.  OB  NATVM  WALLIjE 
PRINCIPEM  GAB.  SILVIVS  EQ.  AYR.  AD  SER.  DANI^E  ET  NORW.  REG. 
ABL.  EXT.  C.  C.  MDCLXXXVIII.  Diam.  if.  Cab.  Bodley.  atir.  Trattle. 
Hawkins.  &c.  arg. 

4.  The  King's  bust  to  the  left,  laureate,  hair  long,  mantle  over  breast.  Leg, 
IACOBUS  II.  D.  G.  BRITANNIARUM  IMPERATOR.  Rose  under  head.  Rev. 
The  Queen,  in  a  canopied  bed,  holding  the  infant  Prince.  Leg.  FELICITAS 
PUBLICA.  Ex.  OB  FELICISS.  M.  BRIT.  PRINC.  NATIV.  )!0  lUN.  1688.  IG. 
VITUS  EQ.  B.  C.  MARC.  D'ALBYVILLE  ET  SA.  ROM.  IMP.  APUD  BAT. 
ABLEG.EXT.  C.  C.  DJam.  2|.    Ca6.  Royal.    Hunter.    Trattle,  &c.  &c.  org-. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  361 

i.  Bust  to  the  left,  laureate,  mantle  over  shoulders.  Leg.  GIVE  THE  KINO 
THY  IVDGMENTS  :  O  GOD.  Rev.  An  angel  guarding  the  iufaut  Prince  in  a  cradle 
beneath  a  canopy.  Leg.  AND  THY  RIGHTEOVSNESS  VNTO  THE  KINGS 
SON.  Psal.  72. 1.  Jir.' The  Prince  of  Wales  bom  June  10,  1688.'  Diaml\.  Cab. 
Reeve.  Hawkins.  H.  VA\is,  pewter.  Thedeviceof  this  medal  is  stampt  in  imitation  of 
engraving,  and  the  workmanship  is  very  rude. 

6.  Truth  trampling  upon  the  serpent  of  deceit,  and  opening  the  door  of  a  cabinet 
inscribed,  lAC.  FRANC.  EDVARD  SVPPOSIT.  20  JVNII  1688.  Within  appears 
a  Jesuit  pushing  through  the  top  a  cushion,  upon  which  is  seated  an  infant  holding  a 
chalice  in  one  hand  and  crowning  himself  with  the  other.  Leg.  SIC  NON  HERE- 
OES  DEERVNT.  In  the  distance  appears  the  Dutch  Fleet  advancing  under 
favourable  breezes  from  heaven.  Rev.  The  Trojan  horse  with  his  trappings,  in- 
scribed, LIBERT.  CONS.  SINE.  JURAM.  ET.  LEG.  P.  Leg.  EQVO  NVN- 
QVAM  TU  CREDE  BRITANNE.  Diam.  3^  Cab.  Royal,  arg.  an.  B.  Mus. 
Hunter.  Trattle,  &,c.  &c.  arg. 

7.  Aglauros  opens  a  basket,  placed  amid  roses  and  thistles,  whence  Erichthonius 
escapes.  In  the  distance  are  females  alarmed  at  the  sight.  Ijeg.  INFANTEMQUE 
VIDENT,  APPORRECTUMQUE  DRACONEM.  Rev.  A  withered  rose-bush, 
bearing  two  decayed  flowers ;  at  a  little  distance  springs  up  a  small  sucker  with 
8  single  bud.  Ug.  TAMEN  NASCATVR  OPORTET.  Kx.  MDCL.XXXVIH. 
Cab.  Royal.    B.  Mus.    Hunter.    Hawkins,  iic.  arg. 

8.  Will.  III.  habited  as  a  Roman  Emperor,  trampling  upon  a  serpent,  and  support- 
ing Mary  wearing  the  crowns  of  her  triple  kingdom  ;  her  shield  is  suspended  from  an 
Orange  tree,  entwined  with  roses  and  thistles.  In  the  distance  appear  James  II.  aixl 
Father  Petre  bearing  away  the  young  Prince,  who  is  playing  with  a  windmill, 
(alluding  to  the  report  that  the  young  Prince  was  the  son  of  a  miller).  P.  A.  F.  the 
initiaLt  of  the  arUst's  name.  Leg.  DEO  VINDICE  lUSTlTIA  COMITE.  iUv. 
BoaU  landing  troops  near  a  castle.  Leg.  CONTRA  INFANTEM  PERDITIONIS. 
Ki.  EXPEDITIO  NAVALIS  PRO  LIBERTATE  ANGLl^E  MDCLXXXVIII. 
Diam.  ij.  Cab.  Hunter.  Hawkins,  atg.  In  the  Royal  Cabinet  is  a  variety  of 
this  medal,  in  which  Father  Petre  carries  the  Pix,  instead  of  the  young  Prince ; 
a  monk  carrying  a  crucifix  accompanies  him  instead  of  tlie  King. 

0.  King  William,  bust  to  the  right,  laureate ;  hair  long ;  mantle.  Leg. 
GUILIEL.  III.  D.  G.  PRINC.  AVRA.  RELI.  LIBER.  QVE.  RESTI.  Rev.  The 
Ark  of  the  Covenant;  above  is  EMANVEL  hurling  thunder  against  French  soldiers, 
and  beaming  rays  upon  Britannia  and  Belgia.  In  front,  Father  Petre  and  a  monk 
with  the  young  Prince,  and  the  emblems  of  the  Papacy,  tumbling.  I)iatn.  3.  Cab. 
Hunter.    Trattle.  arg. 

10.  A  French  ship;  Father  Petre  upon  a  lobster  holds  the  young  Prince  playing 
with  a  windmill.  Leg.  ALLONS  MON  PRINCE,  NOUS  SOMMES  EN  BON 
CHEMIN.  Ri.  lAC.  EDVARD  SUPPOSEE  iO  JUIN.  1688.  Rev.  The  Pro- 
tender's  Arms;  a  shield,  bearing  a  windmill ;  above,  a  Jesuit's  cap,  whence  depends  a 
double  rosary, enclosing  the  motto  HONI  SOIT  QVI  BON  Y  PENSE :  a  lobster  is 
suspended  instead  of  the  George.  Leg.  LES  ARMES  ET  L'ORDRE  DU  PRE- 
TENDU  PRINCE  DES  GALLES.  Diam.l\.  Cab.  Royai.  arg.  aad  ten.  Tho- 
mas, arg. 

11.  Britannia  greeting  the  approach  of  Belgia.  Leg.  M.  BRIT.  EXP.  NAV. 
BAT.  LIB.  REST.  ASSERTA.  Rev.  An  eagle  casting  a  young  bird  from  the  nest 
upon  a  rock ;  another  Eagle  hovers  above.  In  the  di.slaiicc  a  Fleet.  l.eg.  EJICIT 
INDIGNVM.    See  Vanloon,  vol.  iii.  p.  807. 

13.  Bust  of  Louis  XIV.  to  the  righu     Leg.  LVDUVICVS  MACNVS  REX. 


362  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

Rev.  The  Belgic  Lion,  supporting  itself  by  the  staff  of  Liberty  and  tlic  labaruln, 
drives  toward  the  coast,  where  a  French  ship  waits  for  them,  K.  James  U.  with  his 
sword  broken.  Father  Petre  holding  the  young  Prince  with  his  windmill,  and  the 
snakes  of  discord.  Leg.  AVT  REX  AVT  NIHIL.  Kx.  HEGIFVGIVM  lAC. 
AD  LVD.  XIV.    Diam.l^.    Ca6.  Hawkins.     H.  ElUs.  pewt. 

13.  Bust  of  James  II.  to  the  left,  laureate,  long  hair,  mantle.  Leg.  lACOBVS  II. 
D.  G.  BRITANNIARUM  IMPERATOR.  Rev.  A  fox  setting  fire  to  a  tree, 
whereon  are  an  Eagle  and  nest;  at  a  distance  an  Eagle  carrying  off  a  cub.  Leg. 
MAGNIS.  INTERDVM.  PARVA.  NOCENT.  REGNO.  ABDICATO.  IN.  GAL- 
LIAM.  APPVLIT.  Ex.  4  IAN.  1689.  S.  N.  Diam.  2^  Cab.  Royal.  B.  Mus. 
Hunter,  &c  &c.  arg. 

14.  Louis  the  XIV. ;  bust  to  the  right.  Leg.  LVDOVICVS.  MAGNVS.  REX. 
CHRISTIANISSIMVS.  Rev.  Gallia  welcoming  the  arrival  of  James  II.,  his 
Queen,  and  the  young  Prince.  Leg.  PERFVGIVM  REGIBVS.  Ex.  lAC.  II.  M. 
BR.  REX  CVM  REG.  CONI  ET  PR.  WALLI^E  IN  GALL.  RECEPTIS 
MDCLXXXIX.  Diam.  if.    Cab.  Hawkins,  an.  &c.  &c. 

15.  Same  bust  to  the  right.  Leg.  LVDOVICUS  MAGNVS  R.  CHRIST.  F.  P. 
SEMP.  VICT.  Rev.  a  wreath  of  roses  and  pomegranates  entwined,  with  a  band  in- 
scribed LVDOVICO  MAGNO,  enclosing  the  Inscription,  OB  REGEM  REGINAM 
ET  PRINCIPEM  MAGN^  BRITANNIiE  SERVATOS.  Diam.  2|.  Cab. 
Royal,  arg. 

16.  Busts  of  King  William  and  Queen  Mary,  to  the  right.  Leg.  GULIELM.  R. 
MARIA  REGINA  F.  D.  P.  A.  Rev.  An  Eagle  ejects  a  young  one  from  the 
nest.  Leg.  NON  PATITVR  SVPPOSITITIOS.  Ex.  JURE  REGNI  VINDIC. 
MDCLXXXIX.  Diam.i^-  Cat.  Royal.  B.  Mus.  arg.  The  obverse  of  this  medal 
gives  sometimes  a  different  representation  of  the  King  and  Queen. 

17.  King  William*s  bust  to  the  right,  laureate.  Leg.  GULIELM.  III.  D.  G. 
BRITANN.  R.  RELIG.  LIBERTATISQ.  RESTITUT.  Rev.  An  orange  tree 
entwined  with  roses  and  thistles,  and  having  the  shield  of  Britain  attached,  rears  its 
head  amid  the  clouds,  where  are  the  words  ITE  MISSA  EST,  and  whence  lightning 
is  directed  against  James  II.  on  one  side,  with  his  crown  and  sceptre  falling  from  his 
grasp,  and  Father  Petre  on  the  other,  going  off  with  the  Fix  and  the  young  Prince 
carrying  his  windmill.  Snakes  of  discord  accompany  their  flight.  £r.  INAUGURATIS 
MAIESTATIBUS  EIECTO  PAPATU  EXPULSA  TYRANNIDE  BRITANNIA 
FELIX.  1689.  Diam.  2.  Cab.  Royal.  B.  Mus.  Hunter.  Trattle.  Hawkins,  arg. 
Another  obverse  representing  the  busts  of  King  William  and  Queen  Mary  sometimes 
occurs  to  this  medal. 

18.  Queen  Mary,  bust  to  the  left,  mant.  on  shoulder.  Leg.  MARIA.  D.  G.  MAGN. 
BRIT.  FRANC.  ET.  HIB.  REGINA.  Rev.  An  Eagle  flying  toward  the  sun, 
holds  one  eaglet,  and  drops  another.  Leg.  NON  PATITVR  SVPPOSITITIOS. 
Ei.  EXCELLENTISSIM^  PRINCIP.  JVS  REGNI  VINDICATVM.  EIECTO 
SVPPOSITITIO.    MDCLXXXIX.    Diam.  2.    Cat.  Royal.    Hunter,  ar^. 

19.  The  attainted  Prince  of  Wales's  bust  to  the  left,  in  armour.  Leg.  lACOBVS 
WALLIM  PRINCEPS.  n.  b.  Rev.  A  vessel  dismasted  in  a  storm.  Leg.  169T. 
lACTATVR  NON  MERGITVR  VNDIS.  Diam.  if.  Cab.  B.  Mus.  Hunter. 
Bodleian.    Hawkins,  ten, 

20.  Another  bust  of  the  Prince  to  the  left;  no  drapery.  Leg.  lAC.  WALLLE 
PRINCEPS.  N.  R.  Hew.  The  Sun  partly  eclipsetl.  Leg^.  CLARIOR  E  TENE- 
BRIS.    Ex.  160T.    Diam.  1.    Cab.  Hunter.    Hawkins,  an. 

31.  Bust,  same  as  preceding.    Rev,  A  mine  exploding  near  a  bastion.    Leg.  QVO 


ORIGINAL   LETTERS.  36^ 

COMPRESSA  MAGIS.    £jr.  169T.    Diam.l.    CM>.  Royal. aur.  Hunter.    B.  Muf. 
Hawking.    H.  Ellis.  «n. 

22.  Bust,  same  as  preceding.  Rev.  Sun-rise,  sea-coast  Leg.  OMNIA.  FACIT. 
U'SE.  SERENA.    Ez.  16S7.    Diam.  1.    Cat}.  Hunter.    Hawkins.    H.  Ellis,  ten. 

23.  Same  bust.  Rev.  A  dove  and  olive  branch,  sea-coast.  Leg.  MANSVR/G 
NVNTIA  PACIS.  Ex.1601.  Diam.l.  Cab.  Roydi.  aur.  arg.  B.  Mus.  Hunter. 
Hawkins.    H.  Ellis,  een. 

24.  K.  James  H.  bust  to  right,  laureate,  in  armour  and  mantle.  Leg.  lACOBVS  : 
II:D:G:M:B:R:  n.  R.  iict>.  The  Prince's  bust  to  the  left,  hair  long  and  tied, 
in  armour.  L«^.  lAC.  WALLIjE  PRINCEPS.  n.  R.  Diam.i.^  CM).  B.  Mus. 
Hunter.  Hawkins,  ar^. 

25.  Another.  Obv.  nearly  the  same  as  last.  Leg.  of  obverse,  lACO.  H.  DEI. 
GRATIA.    Diam.  1^^.    Cab.  Bo<Ueian.    Trattle.  org. 

26.  Bust  to  left,  same  as  Rev.  of  two  preceding.  Rev.  Sun  rising  disperses  demons ; 
sea-coast  and  ships.  Leg.  SOLA  LUCE  FVGAT.  Ex.  1609.  Diam.  l^  Cab. 
B.  Mus.  Hunter.  Trattle.  Hawkins,  arg. 

it.  Buit,  same  as  preceding.  Rev.  a  Cornucopia.  Leg.  PAX  VOBIS.  Ex.  16W. 
Diam.i\.    Cab.  Hunter.  Bodleian.  Hawkins,  arg. 

28.  Bust  to  right,  Uureate.  Leg.  lACOBVS.  II.  D.  G.  M.  B.  F.  ET.  H.  REX. 
N.R.  1699.  Rffv.The  Prince's  bust  to  left,  in  armour  and  mantle.  Leg.  I. KCWALLIM. 
PRINCEPS.    Diam.  1-j^    Cab.  B.  Mus.    Hunter.    Bodl.    Hawkins.  &c.  arg. 

30.  Busts  of  James  II.  and  Mary;  he  laureate,  and  clothed  with  ample  mantle. 
Rev.  Bust  to  left,  in  armour  and  manUe.  Leg.  lACOBVS.  HI.  D.  G.  M.  B.  F.  ET. 
H.  REX.    Diam.  2.    Cab.  Trattle.    Hawkins,  chased  and  gilt. 

30.  Bust  to  left.  Leg.  lAC.  HI.  D.  G.  MAG.  BRIT.  REX.  i*.  R.  Rev.  The 
meridian  sun  dispelling  clouds.  Leg-.  VIRTVS  MOX  NVBILA  PELLET.  Ex.  1T04. 
XMam.  l|.    Cob.  Hawkins,  ar^. 

SI.  Bust  of  Prince  James  to  the  left,  laureate,  in  mantle.  Leu.  CVIVS  EST. 
N.  R.  Rev.  Map  of  BRIT.  SCOT.  HIB.  Leg.  REDDITE.  Diam.  i.^  Cab. 
B.  Mus.    Hunter.    Bodl.   Hawkins.    H.  Ellis,  arg.  ten. 

32.  Bust  of  Prince  James  to  left,  laureate,  no  drapery.  Leg.  CUIUS  EST.  n.  r. 
Rev.  Similar  to  preceding.  Diam.  1^^  Cab.  Royal.  B.  Mus.  Hunter.  Bodl. 
Hawkins.     H.  Ellis.  <m. 

S3.  Bust  of  Prince  James  to  left,  in  armour  and  mantle.  J>g.  CUIUS  EST. 
N.  R.  Rev.  Map  of  ANGLIA.  SCOT.  HIB.  Leg.  inscribed  on  band,  REDDITE 
IGITUR.    Diam.  2.    Cab.  B.  Mus.  an.  cast.    Bodl.  an.    Trattle.  arg. 

34.  Ship;  sails  set,  wind  fair.  Leg.  lAC.  3.  D.  G,  M.  B.  F.  ET.  H.  REX.  Rei: 
St.  Michael  and  Dragon.  Leg.  SOLI  DEO  GLORIA.  Diam.  |.  Cab.  Trattle. 
Hawkins,  arg. 

36.  Ship;  sails  set,  wind  adverse.  J^g.  lAC.  III.  D.  G.  M.  B.  F.  ET.  H.  R.  Rc¥. 
St.  Michael  and  Dragon.  Leg.  SOLI  DEO  GLORIA.  Diam.  J.  Cab.  B.  Mus.  aur. 
Bodl.    Trattle.    Hawkins,  arg. 

These  two  pieces  were  struck  to  present  to  such  persons  as  came  to  the  nominal 
king  to  be  cured  of  scrophulous  afTections  by  his  touch. 

36.  Queen  Anne's  bust  to  the  left,  crowned,  in  mantle.  Leg.  ANNA  D.  G.  MAG. 
ET  UNIT^iE  BRITA.  FRA.  ET  HIB.  REGINA.  r.w.  Rer.  QVOD  DEVS 
ET  REGES  LEGITIMI  HENRICVS  ROSIS  I.VCOBVS  NO.MINIBVS  ANNA 


364  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

REGNIS  CONIUNXERVNT  LVDOVICVS  XIV  GALL.  REX  PRINCIPE 
SVPPOSITITIO  SEPARARE  AVSVS  EST  D.  XXIV  MART.  MDCCVIII. 
J)«aOT.  l|.    Ca6.  Hunter,  ar^. 

37.  Bust,  same  as  preceding.  Rev.  HENRICVS  ROSAS  lACOBVS  NOMINA 
ANNA  REGNA  VNIVIT  MDCCVII  CONFIRMAVITQ.  FACTA  IRRITA 
LVD.  XIV  GALL.  REG.  CONSPIRATIONE  PER  PR.  SVPP.  lACOB.  DE 
WALLIS  MDCCVIIL    i.  g.  i.    Dtam.  if.    Ca6.  Hunter  ajg-. 

38.  The  Queen's  bust,  to  left,  laureate,  in  mantle.  Leg.  ANNA.  D.  G.  MAGN. 
BRIT.  FRANC.  ET  HIB.  REGINA.  s.  Rev.  Sceptre  entwined  by  the  Rose  and 
Thistle.  At  a  distance.  Rebels  conducting  to  the  Tower,  and  the  SALISBURI  cap- 
tured. Leg-.  QUIS  NOS  IMPUNE  LACESSET  UNITAS.  £^.  IRRITO  SPURII 
lACOBI  REDITU  IN  SCOTOS  CLASSE  GALLICA  EXTERNATA  MDCCVIII. 
Diam.  1^.    Cab.  Hunter.    Trattle.  arg. 

3D.  Bust  of  Prince  James,  to  left,  laureate,  no  drapery.  Leg.  DOMINVM 
COGNOSCITE  VESTRVM.  n.  b.  Rev.  Sheep,  COGNOSCVNT  ME  ME^E.  Ex. 
1710.    Diam.  l-^.    Cab.  B.  Mus.  Hawkins,  (en. 

40.  Bust,  to  left,  in  mantle,  lACOBVS  III.  D.  G.  M.  B.  F.  ET  H.  REX.  Ret'. 
Bust  to  left.  Leg.  PRINCEPS  LVD.  SER.  M.  B.  REGIS  SOROR.  n.  r. 
17ia.    Diam.  2-Jg-.     Cab.  B.  Mus.    Hunter.    Trattle.    Hawkins,  an.  arg. 

A  copy  of  this  medal,  highly  chased  and  gilt,  sometimes,  though  rarely,  occurs. 
One  is  in  the  collection  of  Mr.  Hawkins. 

41.  Bust  to  left,  laureate,  no  drapery.  lACOBVS  III.  D.  G.  M.  B.  F.  ET  H.  REX. 
N.  R.  Rev.  Bust  to  left.  Leg.  PRINCEPS  LVD.  SER.  MAG.  BRI.  REGIS 
SOROR.    N.  R.     Diam.  1-^.    Ca6.  Hunter,  ar^.    Trattle.  «n.    Hawkins,  arg^. 

42.  Busts  of  Prince  James  and  the  Princess  Louisa,  facing,  each  in  an  oval  border; 
the  field  between  decorated  with  scroll  ornaments.  He,  in  armour  and  mantle ;  she, 
•with  her  hair  fllletted,  her  mantle  broached  in  front  and  on  shoulder.  Diatn.  2.  Cab. 
B.  Mus.  arg.    Struck  only  on  a  thin  plate  of  silver. 

48.  Queen  Anne's  bust  to  left,  laureate,  rich  gown  and  mantle.  Leg.  ANNA 
AVGVSTA.  Rev.  Bust  of  Prince  James  to  left,  in  armour,  and  mantle.  Leg.  CVIVS 
EST.    Diam.  1 3-    Ca6.  Trattle.  chased,  gilt. 

This  and  two  or  three  others  of  similar  workmanship  were  executed  by  desire  of 
.«orae  partisans  of  the  exiled  family,  to  form  a  series  of  medallic  portraits  of  its 
•members. 

44.  K.  Geo.  the  I«.  bust  to  right,  laureate,  in  armour  and  mantle.  Leg.GEORGIVS 
L>.  G.MAG.  BR.  FR.ET  HIB.  REX.  F.D.  i.e.  Rev.  An  angel  with  sword  and  palm 
.pursues  cavalry.  Leg-.PERJURII  ULTRIX.  £r.  AD.  DUNBLAINUM.  13Nov. 
1715.    Diam.  ]g.    Cab.  Royal,  arg.  an.    B.  Mus.    Uuntei.  arg.  &c.  &.C. 

45.  Bust  same  as  preceding.  Rev.  A  trophy  of  arms,  on  a  pedestal  decorated  with 
united  hands;  two  captives  chained  to  the  base.  Leg.  FIDES  MILITVM.  Ex. 
REBELL.  AD  PRESTON  CAPT.  13  Nov.  1715.  Diam.  if.  Cab.  Royal. arg. an. 
S.  Mus.  ten.    Hunter,  arg.  &c.  &c. 

46.  Bust  to  the  right,  of  Prince  James,  laureate,  in  armour  and  mantle.  Leg.  NIHIL 
EFFICIENS.  Rev.  Map  of  SCOTIA  BRITANNIA  HIBERNIA.  At  the  top, 
4708.  M.  MART.  Middle  of  Scotland.  1716.  M.  FEBR.  Leg-.  BIS  VENIT  VIDIT 
NON  VICIT  FLENSQVE  RECESSIT.    Diam.  l{.    Cab.  Hunter.  Hawkins,  arg. 

47.  Busts  to  right ;  he,  in  armour,  and  mantle;  she,  with  her  hair  decorated  with 
•tiara  and  beads.    Leg.  lACOB.  III.  R.  CLEMENTINA.  R.    hameran.    Rev. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  '  365 

Hercules  leaning  on  his  club,  takes  the  hand  of  Venus:  Cupid  near  her  holds  a 
cadueeus.  Leg.  REGIVM  CONNVBIVM.  Ex.  KAL.  SEPTEMBR.  MDCCXIX. 
Diam.\^.    CoA.  B.  Mus.  ar/^.    Hunter.    Bodl.    Hawkins.  <cn.  &c. 

48.  Bust  to  left,  in  rich  gown,  mantle,  &c.  Leg.  CLEMENTINA.  M.  BRITAN. 
FR.  ET.  HIB.  REGINA.  OTTO  HAMERANI  F.  Rev.  Clementina  in  a  car; 
Rome,  in  the  distance.  Leg.  FORTVNAM  CAVSAMQVE  SEQVOR.  jE». 
DECEPTIS  CVSTODIBVS  MDCCXIX.  Diam,  ij.  Cab.  B.  Mus.  Hunter. 
Bodl.    Hawkins,  arg.  &c. 

49.  Bust  to  right,  in  armour  and  mantle.  Leg.  lACOBVS.  HI.  D.  G.  M.  B.  F.  ET. 
H.  REX.  Rev.  Bust  to  left,  in  a  rich  gown  and  mantle.  Leg.  CLEMENTIN.\ 
MAGNi£  BRITANNIA  ET  C.  REG.  otto  hamkrani.  Diam.  ig.  Cab. 
Hunter,  ten.    Bodl.  <en.  &c.  Sec. 

50.  Busts,  same  as  last  but  two.  Rev.  A  female,  leaning  against  a  column,  holds  aa 
infant;  poinU  to  Great  Britain  on  a  Globe.  Leg.  PROVIDENTIA  OBSTETRIX. 
Ei.  CAROLO  PRINC.  VALLI^  NAT.  DIE  VLTIMA  A.  MDCCXX.  Diam.  ij. 
Cab,  Hunter,  an.    Bodl.  arg,  ten.    Trattle.  arg.    Hawkins,  ten,  dec. 

61.  Busts  to  right:  he,  laureate,  in  armour  and  mantle.  Leg.  I  AC.  III.  ET. 
CLEM.  D.  G.  MAG.  BRIT.  REG.  Rev.  A  female  holding  an  infant  on  one  arm. 
l^g.  SPES  BRITANNI>T;.  Ex.  car.  wall.  PR.  NATVS  DIE  VLT.  A.  1T30. 
Diam.  1^.    Cab.  Hunter,  lead.    Hawkins.  Ret;,  onli/,  lead, 

62.  Bust  of  Prince  James,  to  the  right,  in  armour  and  mantle.  Leg.  VNICA 
SAL  VS.  Rev.  The  Hanoverian  Horse  trampling  on  a  Lion  and  Unicom;  beyond 
appears  Britannia  weeping;  a  family  emigrating;  London  in  the  distance.  Leg, 
QVIDGRAVIVS  CAPTA.  £r.  MDCCXXI.  Diam.2.  Cab.  B.  Mui.  arg.  Hunter. 
arg,    Bodl.    H.  Ellis,  an.    Hawkins,  arg.  &c. 

68.  Bust  of  Prince  Charles,  to  the  right,  in  armour  and  ermine  mantle.  Leg.  M IC  AT 
INTER  OMNES.  Rev.  Bust  of  Prince  Henry  to  right,  in  armour.  Leg.  ALTER 
AB  ILLO.  Edge,  DIE  XXXI.  DECEMBR.  MDCCXX.  EXTVLIT  OS  SACRVM 
COELO.    Diam.  11^    Cab.  B.  Mus.  aur.    RoyaL    Hunter.    Bodl.    Hawkins.cn. 

54.  Bust  of  Prince  Charles,  to  right,  armour  and  mantle.  Leg.  HVNC  SALTEM 
EVERSO  IVVENEM.  Rev,  Bust  of  Prince  Henry,  in  armour  and  mantle.  Leg. 
TRIPLICIS  SPES  TERTIA  GENTIS.  Diam.  l|.  Cab.  Hunter.  Bodl. 
Hawkins,  an, 

65.  Bust,  to  right,  in  pontifical  robes.  J^g.  BENED.  XIV.  PONT.  M.  A.  IIL 
Rev.  Monument.  Leg.  MEMORI*.  M.  CLEM.  M.  BRIT.  REGINiE.  Diam.  1 1. 
Cab.  Hunter.     Hawkins,  an.  Sec,  Sec, 

58.  Bust  of  Prince  Charles  to  right,  no  drapery.  J^g.  CAROLVS  WALLI^ 
PRINCEPS.  1745.  R(>r.  Britannia  standing  u|)on  the  shore,  holds  a  spear,  rests  one 
hand  on  a  shield,  watching  the  approach  of  ships.  Leg.  AMOR  ET  SPES.  Ex, 
BRITANNIA.    Diam.  1^    Oib.  B.  Mus.    Hunter.    Bobl.    Trattle.    Hawkins.  «n. 

Another  of  the  same  type,  but  of  silver,  and  a  snuiller  size  (l-^),  occurs  In  the 
CabineU  of  B.  Mus.  Trattle.  Willett.  Hawkins. 

07.  Bustof  Prince  Charles,  same  as  preceding,  but  without  Le^-.  or  Rw.  -^by-^. 
Cab.  Hawkins,  aur. 

This  was  evidently  intended  to  have  been  set  in  a  ting  or  brooch. 

68.  Prince  Charles  in  the  Highland  dress,  sword  in  hand,  holds  a  shield,  inscribed 
QUIS  CONTENDAT  MECUM.  Leg.  on  a  band,  NULLUM  NON  MOVEBO 
LAPIDEM  UT  ILLUD  ADIPISCAR.  1T45.  Rev.  A  rose.  Ug.  MEA  RES 
AGITUR.    Diam,  1-jJy.    Cab,  Hunter.    Hawkins,  an. 


366  *  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

59.  Prince  Charles  in  Highland  dress;  in  the  distance,  a  man  leaning  upon  hi* 
shield.  Leg-  CAROLUS  PRINCEPS.  Reu.  Fame,  flying  above  a  city,  holds  a 
crown,  and  proclaims  from  a  trumpet  the  Leg.  SUUM  CUIQUE.  Diam.  l.Jg-.  Cab. 
Hawkins.  «n. 

60.  Bust  of  the  Duke  of  Cumb.  to  the  right,  in  armour.  Leg.  GVLIELMVS  DVX 
CVMBRIjE.  Rev.  Prince  Charles  in  a  plaid  dress,  hat  in  hand,  kneeling  before  a 
Lion  rampant,  crowned.    &.  1T46.    Diam.  1^.    Cab.  Hawkins,  ten. 

61.  Duke  of  Cumberland  on  horseback,  sword  drawn.  L,eg.  DUKE.  OF.  CUMBER. 
Rev.  Prince  Charles,  attempting  to  take  a  crown  upon  a  column,  is  seized  by  the  cap 
by  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  who  strikes  him  with  a  sword.  Leg.  COME  BACK 
AGAIN.    Ex.  PRETENTER.    Diam.  if.    Cab.  Hawkins,  ten. 

62.  Duke  of  Cumberland  on  horseback,  sword  drawn.  Leg.  DUKE.  OF.  CUM- 
BER. Rev.  A  rebel  hanging  on  a  gallows;  two,  suppliant.  Leg.  MORE  REBELS 
A  COMEING.    Diam.  I5.    Cab.  Hawkins,  an. 

63.  Bust  of  Prince  Charles,  to  the  right.  Reu.  A  sapling  rising  from  the  root  of  an 
old  withered  trunk.  Leg.  REVIRESCIT.  Ex.  1T50.  Diam.  if.  Cab.  Hunter. 
arg.    Trattle.  arg.    Hawkins,  ten. 

64.  A  Thistle.  Leg.  FLORESCAT  ET  PUNGAT.    Rev.  A  trophy  of  Arms.    Leg- 

CON.  R.  C.  S.  HOC.  NVM.    D.  EX.   PRjE.    IAC.   1750.     Diam.  l^.     Cab. 
Hawkins,  cen. 

65.  Bust  of  Prince  Charles,  to  the  right.  Lsg^.REDEAT  MAGNUS  ILLE  GENIUS 
BRITANNIjE.  Rev.  Britannia  stands  on  the  shore  watching  the  approach  of  ships. 
Leg.  O  DIU  DESIDERATA  NAVIS.  Ex.  LiETAMINI  CIVES  SEPT.  XXIII. 
MDCCLII.    Diam.l^.    Gift.  Hunter.    Bodl.    Trattle.    Hawkins,  wv?- 

66.  Bust  to  right,  in  cardinal's  robes  and  cap.  Leg.  HENRICVS.  M.  D.  EP. 
TVSC.  CARD.  DVX.  EBOR.  S.  R.  E.  V.  CANC  filippo.  cropanesb.  p 
Rev.  Religion  holding  a  bible,  and  supporting  the  cross ;  at  her  feet  lie  a  Lion,  a  ducal 
coronet,  and  a  cardinal's  hat ;  above,  are  heavenly  rays ;  St.  Peter's  Church  in  the 
distance.  Leg.  NON.  DESIDERIIS.  HOMINVM.  SED.  VOLVNTATE.  DEI. 
Ex.  AN.  MDCCLXVI.    Diam.  2.    Cab.  Hawkins,  arg.  &c.  &c. 

67.  Bust  to  left,  in  mantle.  Leg.  CAROLVS.  III.  N.  1720.  M.  B.  F.  ET.  H.  REX. 
1T66.  Reu.  Bust  to  left,  in  mantle,  hair  drawn  up  tight  behind,  in  formal  curls  at  the 
sides.  Leg.  LVDOVICA.  U.  B.  F.  ET.  H.  REGINA.  1772.  Diam.  1^.  Cab. 
Hawkins,  ten.  &c.  &c 

68.  A  female  bust  to  the  left,  hair  drawn  up  tight  behind,  disposed  at  the  sides  in 
formal  curls ;  slight  drapery  on  the  shoulders.  Leg.  LVDOVICA.  CAR.  III.  M.  B. 
F.ET.  H.REG,  i^^byii.  Ca6.  Hunter.  Trattle.  ar^.  This  medal  is  always 
chased,  and  without  reverse. 

69.  The  Royal  Arms  of  Great  Britain,  surmounted  by  a  ducal  coronet  and  a  cardinal's 
hat.  Rev.  HENRICVS  CARDINALIS  DVX  EBOR.  S.  R.  E.  VICECANCEL- 
RIVS  SEDE  VACAN.  1774.  Diam.  1|..  Cab.  B.  Mus.  pewt.  Hawkins,  arg.  In 
the  Brit.  Mus.  is  another  of  these  pieces,  also  of  pewter,  with  the  date  1709. 

70.  Bust  to  right,  in  cardinal's  robes  and  cap.  Leg.  HEN.  IX.  MAG.  BRIT. 
FR.  ET.  HIB.  REX.  FID.  DEF.  CARD.  EP.  TVSC— o.  ham.  f.  Rev.  Religion 
holding  a  bible,  supporting  the  cross ;  at  her  feet  lie  a  Lion,  the  British  Crown,  and  a 
Cardinal's  Hat.  In  the  distance,  St.  Peter's  Church  and  a  Bridge.  Leg.  NON.  DE- 
SIDERIIS. HOMINVM.  SED.  VOLVNTATE.  DEI.  Ex.  AN.  MDCCLXXXVIII. 
Diam.  2.    Cab.  Hawkins,  an.  &c.  &c. 

71.  The  Editor  has  seen  a  Medallion  in  plaister,  apparently  the  obverse  of  a  Medal, 
bearing  the  same  head  of  Prince  Charles  as  N°.  55.  with  the  words,  look,  love,  anj> 

FOLLOW. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  367 


LETTER  CCCCLVI. 

Andrew  Mitchell  Esq.  to  the  Earl  of  Holdemesse, 
CollinSy  the  courier  Jirr  England^  robbed  of  his 
Despatches  at  the  Gate  of  Berlin. 

[MITCHELL    PAPERS,    BHIT.    MU3.    vol.   i.   foL  IC   MB.   MITCHELL'S 
OWN  COPY.] 

•»*  With  Mr.  Mitchell's  Jlission  to  the  Court  of  Berlin  the  Reader 
is  acquainted.  He  left  England  April  the  18'''.  and  arrived  at  Berlin 
May  8"'.  1756.  In  this  and  some  accompanying  Letters  it  wiU  be  seen 
that  the  patience  and  address  of  the  new  Ambassador  were  very  soon  put 
to  a  severe  trial. 


Berlin,  Saturday  9Q^\  May,  1756. 
My  Lord, 

The  anxiety  I  have  felt  for  these  last  eight  and 
forty  hours  cannot  be  expressed.  The  cause  of  it  was 
this ;  on  Thursday  the  27'^''.  I  despatched  Collins  with 
Letters  to  your  Lordship,  wrote  with  that  freedom 
which  the  security  of  the  conveyance  justified.  He 
received  from  my  own  hand  the  Packet,  about  half  an 
hour  after  eleven  at  night,  and  he  set  out  from  the 
Inn  where  I  am  still  lodged,  a  quarter  past  midnight 
in  a  post  waggon.  In  about  an  hour  afterwards,  he 
returned,  and  gave  me  an  account  of  what  had  hap- 
pened to  him  as  follows. 

That  he  had  put  up  the  Despatches  in  his  port- 


368  ORIGINAL    LETTEHS. 

mantle,  which  together  with  his  saddle  was  put  upon 
a  post  waggon  ;  that  he  had  several  times  felt  for  the 
portmantle,  as  he  was  agoing  from  my  house  towards 
the  Gate  of  the  Town,  and  found  every  thing  right ; 
that  at  a  very  small  distance  from  the  Gate,  he  per- 
ceived the  portmantle  was  gone ;  that  he  immediately 
stopped  the  postilion,  got  a  candle  and  searched  all  the 
way  back  to  my  house,  but  found  nothing.  I  instantly 
wrote  to  Count  Podewils  to  acquaint  him  with  what 
had  happened  to  the  Courier,  desiring  the  aid  of  the 
Magistrate  and  of  the  military  upon  so  extraordinary 
an  occasion.  Orders  were  forthwith  given,  and  I  sent 
Letters  to  the  Commandant  of  the  Town  and  to  the 
Lieutenant  of  the  Police.  All  this  was  done  before 
day -break. 

Unhappily  there  was  a  grand  review  of  the  troops 
that  Morning,  and  it  was  impracticable  to  get  at  the 
King,  as  he  was  to  be  on  horseback  by  five  in  the 
Morning.  I  went  to  the  review,  hoping  to  have  an 
opportunity  to  tell  his  Majesty  what  had  happened, 
but  found  it  impossible  to  speak  with  him  in  the  field. 
I  told  my  story  to  his  first  Aide-de-Camp,  and  I  with- 
drew before  the  review  was  quite  over  in  order  to  be 
early  at  Court. 

So  soon  as  his  Majesty  came,  he  expressed  to  me  in 
a  very  gracious  manner  his  concern  for  what  had  hap- 
pened, and  immediately  gave  Orders  to  his  Generals  and 
to  his  Officers  of  Justice  to  make  the  strictest  search 


I 

ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  369 

possible,  and  to  be  sure  to  do  every  thing  pour  eclaircir 
cette  affaire^  which  he  had  very  much  at  heai't. 

His  Majesty,  at  my  request,  was  pleased  to  promise 
an  indemnity,  and  I  desired  Count  Podewils,  Count 
Finkenstein  and  the  Lieutenant  de  Police  to  offer  any 
reward  they  pleased,  which  I  should  pay  forthwith. 
They  have  fixed  this  at  fifty  Ducats :  and  the  same 
was  proclaimed  by  beat  of  drum  all  over  the  Town 
instantly.  The  Courier  has  given  a  specification  of 
every  thing  contained  in  his  Portmantle,  which  the 
Lieutenant  of  Police  gave  notice  of  to  the  principal 
Jews  in  this  Town.  The  military  are  very  active  to 
make  the  discovery,  and  though  there  arc  twenty 
thousand  soldiers  now  in  Berlin,  I  confess  I  have  little 
suspicion  of  them,  such  is  their  discipline  and  regularity. 

Notwithstanding  all  these  precautions  (and  more  I 
could  not  think  of)  nothing  has  yet  appeared ;  and  I 
write  this  by  post  to  acquaint  your  Lordship  with 
what  has  happened,  in  case  I  should  not  be  able  to 
despatch  Collins,  so  as  to  reach  the  Packet  of  this  day 
sevennight.  My  intention  is  to  send  him  off  early  on 
Monday  morning,  and  I  am  now  preparing  Copies  of 
my  Despatches  of  last  Thursday,  to  be  transmitted  to 
your  Lordship ;  and  I  hope,  at  the  same  time,  to  be 
able  to  send  a  Copy  of  the  Proces  verbal  that  has  been 
taken  concerning  tliis  unlucky  affair. 

I  say  publicly  that  I  suspect  nobody  ;  and  indeed  it 
would  be  injurious  to  mention  the  reports  and  con- 

VOL.  IV.    SER.  2.'  B  B 


370  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

jectures  that  this  robbery,  or  more  properly  theft,  has 
occasioned  at  Berhn.  But  I  trust  to  the  King's  justice, 
and  to  the  cordiahty  with  which  he  acts,  for  a  full 
discovery. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be,  &c. 

ANDR.  MITCHELL. 


LETTER  CCCCLVII. 


Mr.  Mitchell  to  the  Earl  ofHoldernesse.  His  Inters 
view  with  the  King  of  Prussia  respecting  the  lost 
Despatches. 

[ibid.  fol.  20  b.  MK.  Mitchell's  own  copy.] 


(Most  secret.) 

Berlin,  Thursday  3<i.  June,  1756. 
My  Lord, 
Last  Sunday  morning  the  30''>.  May,  the  King  sent 
for  me  privately.  After  expressing  his  concern  for  what 
had  happened,  and  assuring  me  that  every  thing  should 
be  done  to  facilitate  the  discovery,  he  asked  what  I 
had  wrote  concerning  Russia,  &c.  I  told  him  fairly 
the  contents  of  my  Letters,  and  offered,  if  his  Majesty 
pleased,  to  bring  the  rough  draughts  of  my  Letters 
and  translate  them  to  him  myself.  He  said  there  was 
nb  occasion.    Heivas  satisfied ;  and  owned  that  I  had 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


371 


not  mistaken  his  meaning ;  but  he  seemed  uneasy  that 
the  Letters  were  not  yet  found,  notwithstanding  the 
orders  he  had  given. 

When  I  told  the  King  what  I  had  wrote  concerning 
the  Prince  of  Hesse,  he  said  I  will  deny  that  I  ever 
said  such  things,  and  lay  it  upon  You.  I  will  tell  him 
that  you  are  an  enthusiast,  and  so  zealous  a  Protestant 
that  you  cannot  think  with  candor  of  one  that  has 
changed  his  religion. »     To  this  I  agreed. 

I  likewise  owned  to  him  what  I  had  wrote  to  your 
Lordship  about  the  communication  of  intelligence. 
He  seemed  pleased  with  my  openness,  and  said  the 
Cypher  must  be  used  for  the  future  with  any  thing 
that  I  tell  you.     I  gave  him  my  word  that  it  should. 

The  King  then  read  to  me  a  private  Letter  of  In- 
telligence dated  from  Paris  the  21'*^  of  May.  It  was 
wrote  in  Cypher. 

*  #  «  »  # 

I  must  now  acquaint  your  Lordsiiip  with  two  things 
that  give  me  real  pain,  as  they  come  through  my  chan- 
nel ;  but  the  King's  service  must  and  ever  shall  take 
place  of  every  other  considei'ation. 

Count  Podewils  told  me  that  some  secret  Letters 
from  Petersburgh  bear  that  Sir  Charles  Williams, 
having  rendered  himself  very  obnoxious  by  his  inso- 

•  The  Hereditary  Prince  of  Hesse  Cassci  who  had  married  a  daughter  of  King 
George  the  Second,  had  about  this  time  been  prevailed  upon  to  embrace  the  Roman 
Catholic  Religion.  Great  doubts  were  entertained  whether  this  change  would  not 
exclude  him  from  the  succession  to  the  Landgraviatc.  He  hownrer  succeeded  to  it 
in  1700;  nnd  died  in  1TS5. 

R  B  2 


372  ORIGINAL  LETTERS. 

lent  behaviour,  had  every  thing  to  fear,  not  only  for 
his  own  person,  but  with  regard  to  his  dignity  as  Am- 
bassador, which  he  feared  might  be  affronted.  He 
concluded  by  saying  that  Russia  was  of  the  utmost 
importance.     He  wished  we  had  a  wise  man  there. 

Another  thing  he  mentioned  to  me  was  that  Mr. 
Cressener  had  made  himself  disagreeable  to  the  Elector 
of  Cologne  by  his  indiscreet  manner  of  talking,  and 
that  he  should  not  have  been  accredited  to  the  Circle. 
I  told  him  Cressener  was  not,  and  that  he  had  only  a 
Letter  to  the  Senate  of  Cologne.  He  told  me  I  was 
mistaken,  and  desired  me  to  write  about  it ;  for  says 
he,  "  Though  the  Elector  cannot  be  gained,  he  ought 
not  to  be  affronted." 

****** 

I  have  the  honour,  &c. 

ANDR.  MITCHELL. 


LETTER  CCCCLVIIL 

Mr.   Mitchell   to    the  Earl    of  Holdernesse.      The 

discovery  of  the  Thief. 
.       '         ;  [ibid.  fol.  18  b.] 


Berlin,  Thursday  3^^  June,  1756. 
My  Lord, 
I  TAKE  the  liberty  to  send  your  Lordship  a  Copy  of 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  373 

my  Letter  of  the  29''".  May,  and  I  shall  now  give  your 
Lordship  an  account  of  the  success  of  our  inquiries 
into  that  affair. 

I  saw  the  King  on  Sunday  morning.  He  appeared 
to  me  resolved  to  be  at  the  bottom  of  the  affair,  as 
there  were  some  circumstances  that  gave  ground  for 
suspicion,  which  your  Lordship  will  find  in  the  Paper 
marked  A.^  For  this  reason  I  suppose,  as  well  as  on 
account  of  what  is  contained  in  my  most  secret  Letter 
of  this  date,  his  Majesty  was  pleased  to  renew  his  offer 
of  pardon,  and  to  promise  a  reward  of  Two  Hundred 
Ducats  for  the  discovery  ;  but  all  this  had  no  effect. 

President  Kirkhaisen,  Lieutenant  of  Police,  had  given 
to  the  Jewish  Elders  a  Copy  of  the  Specification  of  the 
Things  contained  in  the  Messengcr^'s  Portmantle ;  this 
was  read  in  the  Synagogue  on  Saturday,  and  notice 
was  given  at  the  house  of  every  Jew  of  the  theft  com- 
mitted. . 

Sunday,  about  three  in  the  afternoon,  a  Jewish  wo- 
man brought  three  guineas  to  the  house  of  the  Lieute- 

•  ••  A. 

"  As  the  ReporU  spread  about  here  are  very  injurious  to  the  French  and  Austrian 
Ministers,  and  some  people  were  wild  enough  to  name  Monsieur  de  Valori,  I  openly 
and  loiully  declared  that  I  believed  Him,  and  every  other  Minister  here  incapable  of 
being  concerned  in  such  an  affair. 

"  Monsieur  de  Peubla  wanted  to  send  a  Courier  to  Vienna.  He  sent  several  times 
on  Saturday  for  an  Order  for  post  horses  (which  here  must  be  signc<l  by  the  Secretary 
of  State  and  the  Governor  or  Commandant  of  the  Town).  This  was  shifted  off  till 
Sunday  morning ;  but  the  impatience  he  shewed  on  thisocciision  increasc<l  the  sus- 
picion against  him,  and,  I  found,  made  an  impression  on  the  Kiiif;  and  his  Ministers. 
I  still  said  that  I  believed  him  innocent,  and  that  only  some  low  thief  was  concerned, 
and  that  this  Courier  was  despatched  to  inform  the  Court  of  Vienna  of  the  Prince  of 
Hesse's  having  entered  into  the  Prussian  Service.  I  am  of  opinion  that  this  incident 
inereasetl  his  Majesty's  keenness  to  make  the  discovery." 


ST^  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

nant  of  Police,  which  she  said  she  had  received  of  a 
joiner  and  his  daughter  that  came  to  buy  linen  of  her  on 
Friday  about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  house 
where  the  joiner  lodged  was  immediately  searched. 
He  denied  every  thing;  but  the  daughter  being  in- 
timidated, confessed  "  that  the  theft  had  been  com- 
mitted by  her  brother,  that  he  brought  the  Portmantle 
home  about  one  o'clock  on  Friday  morning,  that  it  was 
not  opened  till  eight  o'clock,  that  her  brother  gave  her 
three  guineas,  and  at  the  same  time  gave  one  guinea 
and  four  ducats  to  the  father,  and  kept  the  rest  to 
himself,"  (there  were  in  the  Portmantle  twenty-five 
ducats,  four  guineas,  and  four  half-guineas)  "  and  that 
all  the  other  things"  (the  Messenger's  frock  only  ex- 
cepted, which  had  been  produced  and  sworn  to)  "  and 
the  Despatches  were  immediately  burnt."  She  added, 
that  if  he,  Lieutenant  of  Police,  "  would  go  to  the 
house,  he  would  find  the  ashes  in  the  poil  or  furnace 
where  they  were  burnt :"  this  he  immediately  did,  and 
he  has  shewn  me  the  cake  of  ashes,  about  which  still  is 
to  be  seen  the  remains  of  the  wax  cloth  in  which  the 
Messenger  had  wrapped  the  Despatch.  The  father, 
after  some  very  severe  floggings,  has  confessed  and 
confirmed  what  his  daughter  had  said ;  but  the  son 
who  committed  the  theft  is  not  yet  found.  I  think  it 
hardly  possible  he  can  escape,  as  every  body  here  are 
upon  their  mettle,  the  King  having  signified  his  plea- 
sure in  so  explicit  a  manner. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  375 

Upon  the  whole,  I  think  it  highly  probable,  every 
circumstance  considered,  the  papers  have  been  destroyed 
without  being  seen  by  any  body. 

So  soon  as  the  enquiry  is  finished,  I  shall  send  your 
Lordship  a  Copy  of  the  Proces  verbal ;  in  the  mean- 
time, I  despatch  Collins,  and  I  beg  leave  to  recommend 
him  to  your  Lordship's  clemency,  as  he  has  behaved 
very  well  during  his  stay  here.a  Had  you  seen  him 
after  the  misfortune  he  would  have  greatly  moved  your 
compassion. 

The  King  went  to  Potsdam  last  Monday  afternoon. 
He  will  return  to  Berlin  on  Friday,  and  set  out  for 
Stetin  on  Saturday. 

*  *  *  «  «  ~ 

By  the  last  post  to  Petersburgh,  I  sent  a  Note  to 
Sir  C.  H.  Williams  in  Cypher,  of  which  the  inclosed 
is  a  Copy.** 

I  have  the  honour,  &c. 

AKDE.  MITCHELL. 

•  The  necommcndation,  however,  was  of  small  avail.  Mr.  Syininerg,  a  private 
friend,  and  who  will  hereafter  occur  as  a  Correspondent  of  Mr.  Mitchell's,  June  Kt"". 
1TS6,  havinf;  congratulated  him  that  his  Paequct  had  not  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 
French,  says,  "  In  the  meanwhile  poor  Collins  remains  the  sufferer.  Vestcnlay  the 
Lord  Chamberlain's  Warrant  eame  into  our  Offlee  to  suspend  him  from  being  Mes- 
senger, and  to  stop  the  payment  of  his  bills  and  salary." 
1)  "To 

"  SU  C.  H.  Williams. 

'<  Berlin,  Sunday  30<<>.  May,  itm. 
"Sir, 
"  1  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  Court  of  France  have  sent  one  Douglass  to 
Hetersburgh  in  order  to  traverse  your  negotiations.    It  Is  surmised  that  Douglass 
has  Letters  of  Credence  rea<fy  to  prwluce,  and  it  is  belleveil  that  he  has  a  very  large 
credit  to  be  used  for  very  bad  purposes. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be,  with  great  re»i)ect. 

Your  Excellency's,  &c. 

ANOR.    MlTCHKl-L." 


376 


OKIGINAL    LKTTEKS. 


LETTER  CCCCLIX. 

Mr.  Mitchell  to  the  Earl  of  Holdernesse.    The  Stealer 
of  Collins' s  Portmantle  brouglit  to  Berlin. 

[ibid.  fol.  23  b.] 


Berlin,  Saturday  5*''.  June,  1756. 
My  Lord, 
Having  wrote  to  your  Lordship  so  fully  by  Collins 
of  the  3'^.  instant,  I  have  only  to  add  that  yesterday 
the  person  that  stole  Collins's  Portmantle  was  brought 
to  Berlin.  He  was  taken  about  seven  German  miles 
from  hence  disguised  in  the  dress  of  a  running  Foot- 
man. He  has  already  confessed  every  thing,  and  his 
Deposition  agrees  with  what  his  Father  and  Sister  had 
separately  told.  His  name  is  David  Bernard  Cramer, 
aged  nineteen  years.  By  the  account  he  gives,  it  ap- 
pears that  he  did  not  know  any  thing  of  the  Couriers 
going;  but  that  happening  to  meet  a  waggon  going 
slowly  through  the  streets  about  midnight,  he  thought 
there  might  be  something  to  pilfer.  He  has  given  a 
very  distinct  account  of  every  thing  he  did,  and  of  the 
company  he  was  in  the  night  the  theft  was  committed; 
all  which  has  been  verified  by  the  examination  of  the 
persons  in  whose  company  he  was. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  377 

He  says  expressly,  that  upon  opening  the  Portmantle 
about  eight  in  the  morning,  and  finding  money  con- 
cealed in  one  of  Collins"'s  stockings,  He,  his  Father, 
and  Sister,  immediately  divided  the  money,  and  after 
tearing  open  the  despatches  (thinking  to  find,  more 
money)  they  immediately  put  them  into  the  poil  or 
furnace,  and  set  fire  to  them,  for  fear  of  being  dis- 
covered. 

The  Lieutenant  of  Police  has  returned  me  sixteen 
ducats  of  Collinses  money,  which  was  found  in  the 
pockets  of  the  thief,  and  he  is  quite  convinced,  after 
the  most  minute  inquiry,  that  the  theft  was  merely 
accidental,  and  that  the  letters  were  never  seen  by  any 
body  capable  of  reading  them.  The  King,  by  what 
he  said  to  me  this  morning,  seems  also  to  be  thoroughly 
satisfied. 

His  Majesty  came  to  Berlin  this  morning  early. 
To-morrow  he  will  set  out  for  Stetin,  and  after  the 
Reviews  are  over,  return  to  Berlin  the  O'*".  or  lO^''.  in- 
stant. He  then  goes  to  Potsdam,  and  about  the  20-''. 
wijl  set  out  to  review  his  troops,  &c.  at  Magdebourg. 
I  have  the  honour,  &c. 

ANDR.  MITCHELL. 


Mr.  Mitchell  cert^ly  professed  to  think  it  highly  probable  that 
the  Papers  had  been  destroyed  without  having  been  seen  by  any  body. 
It  is  iwssible,  however,  that  in  his  own  breast  he  still  retained  a  sus])icion 
that  they  hatl  previously  passed  under  the  inspection  of  His  Prussian 
IMujcsty  and  his  contidential  dccyphcrer,  and  that  tliis  object  rather  than 


378  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

the  hope  of  pecuniary  booty  had  been  the  motive  by  which  the  son  of  the 
Joiner  was  instigated  to  commit  the  theft.  This  suspicion  certainly  had 
presented  itself  to  other  persons  not  unacquainted  with  the  Court  of  Ber- 
lin. Mr.  Titley,  at  that  time  the  British  Ambassador  at  Copenhagen, 
writing  to  Mr.  Mitchell,  on  the  IS"".  June,  says, 

"  I  could  tell  you  that  your  case  is  by  no  means  singular.  I  have 
heard  formerly  of  its  having  happened  more  than  once  at  your  place, 
where  thieves  are  sometimes  as  dexterous  and  watchful  to  steal  Dc- 
spatches,  as  they  can  be  at  London  to  take  a  purse." 

Mr.  Mitchell  makes  no  mention  of  David  Bernard  Cramer,  the  stealer 
of  the  Despatches,  having  been  brought  to  justice,  or  punished.  "The 
English  Newspapers  of  the  time,  certainly  represented  him  to  have  been 
hung  within  a  few  hours  of  his  having  been  taken. 


LETTER  CCCCLX. 


Robert  Symmer,  Esq.  to  Mr.  Mitchell.     The  Tmilon 
Squadron  sailed  Jbr  Port  Mahon. 

[mitchelx.  PAPEHS,  vol.  xxxviii.  fol.  1.  Orig.'\ 


London,  27*^.  April,  1756. 
***** 
We  have  no  other  news  of  a  public  nature,  and  that 
is  of  any  importance,  but  an  Accovint  of  the  Sailing 
of  the  Toulon  Squadron  the  IS'h.  of  this  month,  for 
the  Siege  of  Port  Mahon,  as  is  supposed.  This,  how- 
ever, does  not  seem  to  alarm  us  much.  The  military 
people  who  know  any  thing  of  the  matter,  are  of  opi- 
nion the  French  will  not  carry  the  place  at  a  brush ; 
but  that  the  Garrison  wiU  be  able,  if  not  to  repel  them, 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  379 

at  least  to  hold  them  in  play  till  Admiral  Byng  comes 
up,  when  the  fate  of  the  place  may  come  to  depend 

upon  the  success  on  another  element. 

•  «  «  «  * 


LETTER  CCCCLXI. 


Mr.  Sij'iiimcr  to  Mr.  Mitchell.      The  nnaccountable 
behaviour  of  the  English  Fleet. 

[ibid.  fol.  3.  Orig.^ 


London,  18*'.  June,  1756. 
#  #  ♦  «  * 

I  PRESUME  my  Letters  of  the  28  ''.  May  and  the  l^f. 
of  June  have  come  to  your  hands.  Since  that  time, 
our  Prospect  of  Affairs  abroad  has  greatly  changed 
from  what  it  then  was.  We  were  then  in  the  highest 
expectation  of  good  news  from  the  Mediterranean. 
How  the  good  people  here  (who  are  always  too  ready 
to  be  elevated  or  dejected)  must  have  been  struck  with 
the  account  (transmitted  from  Paris  to  the  Spanish 
Minister  here,  by  an  Extract  of  Gallissonier's  Letter) 
of  the  strange  and  unaccountable  behaviour  of  our 
Fleet,  will  be  easier  for  you  to  imagine  than  me  to 
tell.  Many  did  not  believe  it ;  and  some  do  not  believe 
it  to  this  day ;  and  it  must  be  confessed,  that  it  is  at 


380  OllIGINAL    LETTERS. 

least  very  strange  that  for  so  long  a  time  as  from  the 
SO'^'J.  of  last  month,  we  should  have  no  other  Account 
of  that  Action  than  the  Letter  abovementioned,  or 
what  seems  to  transpire  involuntarily  from  France. 
Nay,  it  must  be  owned,  that  some  circumstances  come 
almost  daily  to  light,  to  make  us  hope  to  hear  of  some- 
thing better  than  what  we  had  at  first  imagined  in 
consequence  of  the  Battle.  Letters  from  Barcelona  of 
the  26  h.  of  last  month  mention  four  or  five  Men  of  War 
of  the  French  met  with  at  Sea  greatly  hurt,  and  almost 
unable  to  make  any  Port.  At  the  same  time  a  Letter 
from  Lord  Drumlea  at  Gibraltar  of  the  28  ''.  says  that 
Byng's  Fleet  had  not  returned  thither,  and  that  they 
had  had  no  accounts  of  them.  It  is  likewise  confidently 
affirmed  (by  what  channel  the  news  comes  I  know  not) 
that  Blakeney  held  out  still,  the  29*.  Now,  if  it  be 
possible  for  him  to  hold  out  a  little  longer,  there  may 
yet  be  hopes  entertained  of  the  Relief  of  Port  Mahon 
and  of  the  brave  and  gallant  officer  who  defends  it: 
for  it  cannot  be  long  e're  Broderick  (who  sailed  with 
four  Ships  of  the  Line  from  Plymouth  the  30 ''.  of 
May)  comes  up  with  Byng,  which  must  enable,  and  in 
a  manner  compel  the  Fleet  to  make  another,  and  it  is 
to  be  hoped  a  more  successful  Attempt  (if  it  be  not 
already  done  by  a  second  engagement)  to  drive  the 
French  from  before  the  Port.  At  all  events,  we  are 
to  trust  to  it,  that  when  Hawke  and  Saunders  arrive 
at  the  Fleet,  and  take  upon  them  the  command  of  it, 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


381 


we  shall  again  recover  the  dominion  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean ;  as  the  arrival  of  Lord  Tyrawley  and  Panmure 
will  put  the  Garrison  of  Gibraltar  upon  a  better  foot- 
ing, and  free  us  from  the  apprehension  of  losing  that 
important  Place  likewise. 


LETTER  CCCCLXII. 


Lord  Barrington  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  The  arrival  of 
Admiral  Byng's  Despatches.  His  neglect  to  relieve 
Port  Mahon  after  beating  the  French.  Reitiforce- 
•ments  sent  out.     The  Public  despond. 

[MITCHELL  PAPEBS,  VoL  XXXV.  fol.  1.  Orig.'\ 

•  •  William  Wildman  Viscount  Barrington  of  Ireland,  was  bom  in 
January  1717,  and  became  Member  for  Berwick  in  1740.  AIa.stcr  of 
the  Great  Wardrobe  in  1754,  and  in  the  following  year  Secretary  at 
War.  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  in  \^^t\^  and  Treasurer  of  the  Navy 
in  1762.  In  July  1765  he  was  re-appointed  Secretary  at  M'^ar,  He 
quitted  the  House  of  Commons  in  May  1778,  and  the  War  Office  in 
December.  In  1781  he  was  appointed  Joint  Postmaster  General,  but 
was  removed  in  1782.    He  died  February  the  3'.  1793. 


Cavendish  Square,  9,¥'\  June,  1756. 
I  SHOULD  have  sent  you  an  earlier  account,  my  dear 
Mitchell,  of  Sir  Alexander  Gilmour's  being  appointed 
an  Ensign  in  the  first  Regiment  of  Guards,  if  I  had 


382  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

not  been  desirous  to  stay  till  I  could  furnish  you  with 
some  Intelligence  concerning  our  Affairs  in  the  Medi- 
terranean which  might  be  trusted  and  believed.  The 
French  Accounts  never  deserve  any  confidence,  and 
never  deserved  less  than  at  present,  when  they  have 
formally  communicated  to  the  Ministers  residing  at 
Paris  a  Naval  Victory  in  the  Mediterranean  which  has 
really  turned  out  a  Defeat.  Admiral  Byng's  despatches 
arrived  yesterday,  and  acquaint  us  with  the  particulars 
of  the  Action  Avhich  happened  on  the  19*.  May.  It 
consisted  only  in  a  cannonading  of  four  hours,  the 
French  avoiding  a  close  engagement.  Their  ships 
were  cleaner  and  went  better  than  ours,  and  they  were 
under  sail  the  whole  time.  At  night  the  French  se- 
parated entirely  from  our  Squadron,  and  were  not  to 
be  seen  the  next  day,  though  we  lay  to  in  the  place 
where  the  Action  happened ;  so  the  field  of  Battle  was 
ours.  The  French  Squadron  most  certainly  behaved 
ill,  and  ours  did  not  make  use  of  several  advantages 
with  which  they  were  furnished  by  fortune  or  the 
misconduct  of  the  enemy.  Mr.  Byng  remained  off 
Mahon  (though  at  some  leagues  distant  from  it)  till 
the  25*.  and  then (you  will  be  filled  with  astonish- 
ment and  indignation  when  you  hear  it)  returned  to 
Gibraltar  without  renewing  the  fight,  though  he  once 
perceived  the  enemy  from  his  topmast  head ;  without 
landing  or  attempting  to  land  any  succours ;  without 
even  trying  to  send  a  Letter  to  General  Blakeney,  or 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  383 

knowing  more  of  the  Island  he  was  sent  to  defend, 
than  that  the  King's  colours  still  appeared  in  St. 
Phillips.  By  this  retreat,  the  inferior  and  beaten 
Fleet  of  France  remained  master  of  those  Seas,  and 
was  enabled  to  throw  whatever  their  army  wanted  into 
the  Island.  The  English  Squadron  was  less  damaged 
than  the  French,  superior  in  number  of  ships  of  the 
line,  still  more  superior  in  number  of  guns,  weight  of 
metal,  and  strength  of  ships;  but  most  of  all  in  seamen; 
for  Byng's  Squadron  was  more  than  complete  as  to 
men  at  the  time  of  engagement,  and  no  ships  ever 
went  from  hence  better  manned.  By  this  time  you 
have  concluded  that  our  Admiral  was  mad,  and  you 
have  blamed  his  officers  for  not  confining  him.  Alas ! 
they  were  as  infatuated  as  their  chief;  for  the  retreat 
was  made  in  consequence  of  a  Council  of  War  at 
which  Major  General  Stuart  and  three  Colonels  wiio 
were  sent  to  their  posts  in  Minorca  improperly  assisted. 
This  Council  unanimously  advised  the  return  to  Gib- 
raltar for  reasons  which  I  am  ashamed  even  to  repeat. 
You  have  undoubtedly  heard  of  another  extraordi- 
nary Council  of  War  at  Gibraltar,  and  of  General 
Fowke's  disobedience  of  his  orders  to  send  a  Battalion 
to  Minorca  on  board  Admiral  Byng's  Fleet ;  in  conse- 
quence of  which  liOrd  Tyrawley  has  been  sent  to  su- 
persede General  F(twke ;  and  on  a  suspicion  too  well 
verified  since,  Sir  Edward  Hawke,  and  Captain  Saun- 
ders lately  made  an  Admiral,  went  to  replace  Admirals 


384  ORIGINAL  LETTERS. 

Byng  and  West.  This  cargo  of  courage,  the  richest 
which  has  ever  been  embarked  on  board  any  ship  since 
the  expedition  of  the  Argonauts,  sailed  last  week  in 
the  Antelope,  and  I  hope  will  arrive  at  Gibraltar  before 
Admiral  Byng  returns  to  Minorca,  with  five  large  shjps 
of  the  line  which  had  been  sent  from  hence  to  reinforce 
his  squadron. 

The  Duke  of  Cumberland,  who  has  hitherto  judged 
exactly  right  with  relation  to  every  event  of  the  Siege 
of  St.  Phillips,  not  only  hopes  but  thinks  our  Garrison 
may  hold  out  till  the  new  Commanders  arrive  at  Mi- 
norca. It  is  certain  the  French  have  made  many  mis- 
takes, and  very  little  progress.  The  Duke  de  Rich- 
lieu's  conduct  is  much  blamed  in  France,  perhaps 
unjustly,  for  he  has  great  difficulties  to  encounter, 
such  as  I  think  he  could  never  have  surmounted  if 
the  Duke  of  Cumberland's  Plan  of  defence  had  taken 
place.  Perhaps  you  have  not  heard  distinctly  what 
that  Plan  was,  and  therefore  I  will  shortly  explain  it 
to  you.  Once  in  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks  a  fresh 
Battalion  was  to  be  thrown  into  St.  Phillips,  with  every 
thing  which  the  Garrison  wanted :  the  sick,  the  wounded, 
and  every  nuisance  was  to  have  been  removed  by  the 
same  ships  which  brought  the  relief,  and  carried  to 
Gibraltar :  I  mean  such  wounded  soldiers  as  could  be 
removed.  Every  supply  was  to  have  been  cut  off 
from  the  French,  and  their  small  army  left  to  struggle 
with  sickness,  climate,  and  want.     It  is  plainly  evident 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  385 

this  Plan  was  as  practicable  as  any  thing  of  that  nature 
can  be.  Regiments  and  ships  went  continually  from 
hence,  Batallions  were  ordered  from  Gibraltar;  our 
Fleet  (though  it  lagged  by  the  way)  was  superior,  and 
beat  the  enemy,  I  may  say,  in  spite  of  our  teeth.  The 
fort  is  open  towards  the  sea,  and  can  only  be  invested 
towards  the  land.  Our  passage  to  Minorca  (though 
longer  than  could  reasonably  have  been  expected) 
brought  the  Fleet  in  time.  The  Governor  of  Gibraltar 
and  our  Admiral  have  defeated  every  thing ;  and 
having  destroyed  a  moral  certainty  of  success,  leave  us 
nothing  but  faint  hopes. 

It  is  determined  to  make  some  severe  examples.  I 
am  sorry  the  last  war  as  well  as  the  present  show  the 
want  of  more  noble  motives. 

You  may  perhaps  have  heard  that  our  Fleet  went 
too  late  to  the  Mediterranean.  Do  not  believe  it  could 
have  gone  sooner,  or  at  the  time  it  went  stronger,  with- 
out destroying  the  effect  of  our  Western  Squadron 
which  must  always  be  superior  to  the  enemy's;  and 
which  has  hitherto  by  that  superiority  protected  all 
our  trade,  taken  almost  all  the  trade  of  France,  and 
prevented  the  succours  intended  to  be  sent  from  thence 
to  America,  where  we  have  a  very  great  Army,  which 
took  the  field  in  May. 

Our  countrymen,  according  to  custom,  despond.  I 
never  will  till  I  see  good  reason ;  nay,  till  no  hope  or 
means  are  left.     I  regard  war  as  an  accompt  debtor 

VOL.  IV.    SER.2.  c  c 


386  ■     ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

and  creditor  of  loss  and  mischief  between  two  nations. 
There  must  be  Articles  on  both  sides,  and  the  utmost 
you  can  expect  is,  that  the  balance  of  Distress  shall  be 
at  last  in  your  favour :  hitherto  it  is  so. 

T  am  obliged  to  write  in  great  haste,  and  have  not 
time  to  correct,  or  have  copied  over  fair  what  I  have 
written;  but  you  can  excuse  every  thing  in,  dear 
Mitchell, 

Your  most  faithful  and 

obedient  humble  servant, 

.  .        .         ■    .  BARRINGTON. 


LETTER  CCCCLXIII. 

Mr.  Symmer  to  Mr.  Mitchell.     The  continuance  of 
Pttblic  disappointment. 

[iBro.  vol.  xxxviii.  fol.  5.  Orig.] 


Whitehall,  9^'^  July,  1756. 

We  have  now  been  destitute  of  public  news  for 
upwards  of  a  fortnight :  but  we  wait  for  Intelligence 
from  the  Mediterranean,  and  look  for  it  every  day  with 
a  degree  of  impatience  that  cannot  easily  be  expressed. 
After  the  terrible  disappointment  we  had  in  Byng's 
unaccountable  behaviour,  not  only  in  the  pitiful  Action. 


ORIGINAL    I.ETTJSRS,  387 

he  had  with  the  French,  but  in  his  return  to  Gibraltar 
and  abandoning  the  gallant  Blakeney  and  his  brave 
garrison  to  the  fate  of  a  cruel  Siege ;  we  remain  in  a 
manner  inconsolable,  and  have  nothing  to  raise  our  hopes 
but  the  expectation  of  Hawke  and  Saunders  arriving 
in  time  to  take  the  command  of  the  Fleet  from  Byng, 
and  fly  to  the  relief  of  Port  Mahon,  if  happily  it  should 
be  able  to  hold  out  so  long.  What  increases  our 
anxiety  is,  lest  Byng  (to  whom  some  of  his  friends,  it 
is  said,  have  sent  expresses  both  by  Land  and  Sea,  to 
let  him  know  what  is  thought  of  his  conduct  in  Eng- 
land) should  seize  the  opportunity  of  Broderick's 
arrival,  and  by  making  a  desperate,  but  yet  perhaps 
another  cowardly  attempt  upon  the  French,  irre- 
trievably ruin  our  affairs  there.  Whatever  the  event 
may  be  we  must  now  soon  know. 


LETTER  CCCCLXIV. 

Mr.  Symmcr  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  Port  Mafion  lout.  The 
Indignation  against  Admiral  Byng''s  conduct, 
general. 

[ibid.  foL  7-  Orig.'\ 


London,  6'^.  Aug.  1756. 
***** 
I  TAKE  it  for  granted  you  have  a  full  and  distinct 

cog 


388  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

account  of  the  late  unhappy  event  of  the  loss  of  Port 
Mahon.  « 

#  *  #  #  * 

You  cannot  imagine  what  a  general  Indignation 
appears  on  the  score  of  Byng's  dastardly  and  unac- 
countable behaviour.  A  Notion  prevailed  some  days 
since  that  he  had  come  up  to  Town.  Upon  this  a 
gentleman,  who  it  seems  had  the  misfortune  to  resem- 
ble Byng  in  person,  was  pointed  out  in  one  of  the 
streets  of  the  City  for  the  Admiral,  and  if  happily 
some  people  had  not  come  up  and  rescued  him  by 
declaring  who  he  was,  he  would  have  been  torn  to 
pieces  by  the  mob.  You  will  find  by  the  public  papers 
that  a  Captain  and  a  party  of  sixty  dragoons  had  gone 
down  to  Portsmouth  to  bring  him  up,  and  to-day  it 
was  expected  he  would  have  been  safely  lodged  in  the 
Tower.  Perhaps  he  may  be  by  this  time  arrived : 
but  a  few  hours  ago  there  was  a  surmise  that  he  was 
still  at  Portsmouth,  or  rather  on  board  of  the  Man  of 
War,  the  party  having  found  it  impossible  to  conduct 
him  so  much  as  through  the  streets  of  Portsmouth 
without  exposing  him  and  themselves  to  insult. 


OftiGINAL    LETTERS  S89 


LETTER  CCCCLXV. 

The  Earl  of  Holdernesse  to  Andrew  Mitchell^  Esq. 
A  Change  taking  place  in  the  Administration. 

[MITCHELL  PAPERS.    VoL   XVuL  fol.  77-    Orig.^ 

(Private.) 

London,  Nov.  3-',  1756. 
Dear  Mitchell, 
The  circumstances  alluded  to  in  my  office  Letter 
are  the  confusion  that  reigns  in  the  interior.  We 
have  literally  no  Administration,  and  God  only  knows 
when  we  shall  have  one.  Touch  lightly  upon  the 
subject  to  the  King, "  tell  him  something  of  our  Parties, 
talk  of  Pitt,  Fox,  8ec.  Tell  him  what  you  have  seen 
and  what  you  know  of  men  and  manners  in  this  Coun- 
try, but  don't  let  him  take  any  alarm  at  our  wild,  in- 
considerate, precipitate  way  of  acting.  We  are  not 
squabbling  about  measures,  but  about  men.  Our 
Alliance  with  him  must  and  will  be  supported  by  all 
sides.  How  long  I  shall  be  your  correspondent  I  can- 
not guess.  Whether  I  go  out  or  stay  in,  you  shall  not 
blush  for  me.  I 'act  upon  honest  principles.  My 
fortune  may,  but  my  character  shall  not  suffer. 

•  The  King  of  Prtis!>iii.  , 


890  OllIGINAL    LETTERS. 

Adieu  dear  Mitchel,  in  the  present  scene  of  hurry 
and  bustle  I  have  scarce  time  to  assure  you  that  I  am 

ever  yours, 

HOLDEKNESSE. 

Mr.  Mitchel. 


LETTER  CCCCLXVI. 

The  Earl  of' Holdernesse  to  Mr.  Mitchell.     His  Lord- 
ship at  the  head  oj'the  Admhiistration. 
[MITCHELL  PAPERS,  vol.  xviii,  fol.  {51.  Ortg.] 


(Private.) 

London,  Nov.  26*'-.  1756. 

Deau  Sik, 

The  short  hints  I  have  thrown  out  to  you  from 
time  to  time,  as  well  as  the  unusual  cessation  of  my 
public  Letters,  must  have  let  you  parti?/  understand 
the  confusion  that  reigned  here  for  some  time  past ; 
things  begin  to  take  a  shape ;  how  long  it  may  last  1 
cannot  judge,  but  happen  what  may,  I  think  your 
affairs  at  Berlin  will  certainly  go  right. 

Mr.  Pitt  has  been  laid  up  with  a  severe  fit  of  the 
gout  ever  since  his  nomination  to  the  Office,  which  has 
greatly  retarded  business.  I  think  his  opinions  upon 
Foreign  Affairs  now  he  is  in  place  are  exactly  the  same 
with  mine,  however  different  they  were  some  time  ago. 
Tempora  mntaniur  et  noSy  &c.     I  hope  you  will  never 


ORIGINAL    LETTEKS.  391 

find  that  maxim  applicable  to  your  old  friend  in  Ar- 
lington Street. 

I  know  long  ago  of  some  private  Letters  wrote  to 
you  by  the  D.  of  N.  ^  You  were  in  the  right  not 
to  discover  a  secret  intrusted  to  you,  but  though  (for 
reasons  you  know)  I  bore  this  from  Mm,  such  mat- 
ters must  cease  for  the  future  with  otiiers.  I  there- 
fore insist  that  I  may  know  directly  if  any  other 
person  in  the  Administration  offers  to  correspond  with 
you.  While  I  remain  in  business  I  will  do  the  duty 
of  my  office  myself,  and  without  submitting  to  those 
disagreeable  interruptions  I  have  met  with  from  others; 
nor  will  I  henceforward  be  led  by  persons  of  my  own 
age  and  less  experience.  In  short,  dear  Mitchel,  if  I 
stay  in  I  must  now  have  my  share  of  the  Cake,  and  if 
you  hear  I  continue,  depend  upon  it  I  have  succeeded 
in  what  I  think  just  and  reasonable  pretensions.  A 
volume  would  not  explain  to  you  the  transactions  of 
these  last  six  weeks.  I  have  five  Administrations  in 
one  day,  and  none  existing  at  night. 

The  Duke  of  Newcastle  is  great  in  his  retreat,  and 
does  himself  great  honour  by  the  manner  in  which  he 
bears  what  his  enemies  only  call  a  disgrace. 

The  Parliament  will  produce  a  motley  scene  next 
week.     You  are  happy  to  be  out  of  the  scrape. 
«  «  *  #  « 

Ever  most  truly  yours, 

HOLOEUNESSE. 

•  Dukv  of  Newcastle. 


S92  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCCLXVII. 

Mr.  Syvimer  to  Mr.  Mitchell     Admiral  Byng  capi- 
tally convicted. 

[ibid.  vol.  xxxviii.  fol.  31.  Orig.^ 


London,  28''.  Jan.  1757. 
My  dear  Mitchell, 
I   WRITE    a   few   lines  to   acquaint   you  that   this 
morning  about  seven  o'clock  an  express  arrived  at  the 
Admiralty,  with  an  account  that  Admiral  Byng  was 
capitally  convicted,  and  was  to  be  shot  within  a  few  days. 
After  what  I  wrote  to  you  in  my  last  of  the  21  *f.  of  this 
month  you  will  perhaps  be  surprised  at  this  News ;  but 
1  can  assure  you  your  case  is  not  singular ;  the  most  of 
people  here  are  as  much  surprised  as  you  can  be  :  not 
that  they  either  thought  he  ought,  or  that  they  wished 
he  would  be  acquitted ;  but  the  accounts  that  had  come 
from  Portsmouth  for  about  a  week  or  two  past  had 
been  so  favourable  for  Byng,  that  it  was  generally  con- 
cluded he  would  have  been  acquitted,  and  some  went  so 
far  as  to  say  that  it  would  be  to  his  honour.  Nay  at  this 
very  time  we  are  assured  he  had  his  Post-Chaises  stand- 
ing daily,  nay  hourly,  ready,  to  carry  him  to  London 
as  it  were  in  triumph  :  and  yesterday  I  saw  a  gentle- 
man who  is  intimate  with  some  of  his  relations,  and 


ORIGINAL    LETTEKS. 


399 


who  told  me  they  were  in  hourly  expectation  of  his 
arrival  at  London,  taking  it  for  granted  he  would  be 
as  expeditious  in  his  journey  as  any  messenger  that 
could  bring  the  accounts  of  his  acquittal.    I  was  to-day 
further  informed  from  very  good  hands,  that  a  gentle- 
man who  dined  with  him  on  Tuesday  last  says,  that 
after  dinner  Mr.  Byng  told  him  that  as  soon  as  he 
should  come  to  Town,  he  would  resume  his  Seat  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  return  the  charge  upon  his 
enemies  by  an  accusation,  the  heads  of  which  he  read 
to  this  gentleman.     All  this  can  only  be  accounted  for 
by  observing,  that  there  were  a  number  of  people  em- 
ployed by  him  to  write  by  every  post  from  Portsmouth, 
giving  the  most  favourable  accounts  imaginable  of  the 
progress  of  his  Trial,  and  filling  all  the  newspapers  with 
paragraphs  to  the  same  purpose,  at  the  same  time  that 
he  himself,  and  all  about  him,  affected  a  shew  of  the 
most  sanguine  hopes,  or  rather  of  a  state  of  absolute 
security.     Certain  it  is,  however,  that  his  Court  Mar- 
tial, upon  the  closing  of  the  evidence,  were  not  without 
their  difficulties.     They  took  no  less  than  a  week  to 
come  to  their  final  resolution.     This  is  imputed  to  the 
tenderness,  or  perhaps  to  the  partiality  of  some,  who 
endeavoured,  though  in  vain,  to  save  him. 

A  very  odd  circumstance  was  thrown  in  after  the 
close  of  the  Evidence  which  has  afforded  matter  of 
speculation.  A  Letter  came  from  M.  Voltaire  ad- 
dressed to  Mr.  Byng,  which  was  stopped  at  the  Post- 


394  OUIGINAL    LETTEllS. 

office,  brought  to  Lord  Holdernesse,  and  opened.  This 
contained  an  original  Letter  from  the  D.  do  Richlieu 
to  M.  Voltaire,  in  which  he  declared  that  Mr.  Byng 
had  acted  like  a  brave  and  a  prudent  Admiral  in  the 
Engagement ;  and  that  as  the  French  were  greatly 
superior  in  men,  and  in  the  condition  of  their  ships  to 
the  English  oft  that  occasion,  had  Mr.  Byng  obstinately 
persisted  in  a  closer  engagement,  he  must  by  that  have 
given  up  the  English  Fleet  to  sure  destruction. 

You  may  judge  whether  that  attestation  could  have 
been  of  great  service  to  Mr.  Byng.  Many  are  of 
opinion  that  this  Certificate  of  good  behaviour  had 
been  begged  by  him  or  his  friends.  A  report  goes 
that  the  Court  Martial  have  recommended  the  criminal 
to  the  mercy  of  the  K.  Whatever  foundation  there 
may  be  for  this,  it  is  not  imagined  that  the  K.  will 
pay  the  least  attention  to  it.  We  have  no  other  News 
here  at  present.  Shall  I  not  hear  from  you  soon  ? 
I  ever  am. 

Dear  Mitchell, 

Yours,  &c. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  395 


LETTER  CCCCLXVIII. 

Mr.  Syvimer  to  Mr,  Mitchell.    The  rigor  of  Admiral 
Byng's  Sentence. 

[ibid.  fol.  36.   Or\s.\ 


London,  Febr.  the  1*^  1757. 

My  dear  Mitchell, 
I  SEND  you  the  slip  of  the  Newspaper  herewith 
enclosed,  as  a  supplement  to  my  Letter  of  Friday  last. 
If  you  have  not  had  any  other  copy  of  the  Sentence 
against  Admiral  Byng  transmitted  to  you,  this  ought 
not  to  be  unwelcome,  for  you  may  depend  upon  its 
being  authentic.  You  will  see  what  a  strange  Sentence 
it  is.  Our  friend  Hillsborough  had  a  very  just  ob- 
servation upon  it,  that  it  was  not  so  much  a  Sentence 
against  Admiral  Byng  as  against  the  Law ;  and  that 
instead  of  condemning  the  Admiral  they  condemned 
the  Law  to  be  shot.  There  is  so  much  in  this,  that 
it  is  reported,  I  am  afraid  with  too  much  foundation, 
that  some  of  high  rank  in  the  Navy,  as  well  as  some 
Captains,  declare  they  will  not  serve  under  the  rigor 
of  so  hard  and  unequitable  a  law,  as  it  subjects  their 
lives  and  reputations  to  the  judgment  a  Court  Martial 
may  form  of  what  they  may  please  to  call  a  neglect  of 


396  OllIGINAL    LETTERS. 

duty,  though  perhaps  the  Commander  regulated  his 
conduct  on  what  appeared  to  be  best  at  that  time.  It 
is  even  said  an  application  will  be  made  to  Parliament 
to  alter  this  Clause  of  the  Act ;  an  Act,  so  much  the 
more  remarkable  on  this  occasion  as  it  seems  Admiral 
Byng  was  one  of  those  who  contributed  much  to  carry 
it  to  this  degree  of  rigor. 

In  the  meanwhile  all  the  world  agrees,  that  it  was  a 
cruel  thing  to  throw  the  determination  on  the  King, 
who  is  in  a  manner  told  in  the  Sentence  that  he  ought 
to  pardon  Byng,  notwithstanding  that  he  has  in  a 
solemn  manner  declared  in  his  Answer  to  the  Address 
of  the  City  of  London  that  he  will  allow  Law  and  Jus- 
tice to  have  their  course.  The  City  begin  already  to 
sound  this  very  high.  It  is  assigned  as  a  reason  why 
the  Court  Martial  threw  this  hard  task  upon  the  King; 
that,  it  seems,  they  Avere  divided  in  their  opinions ;  five 
were  for  convicting  him  capitally,  four  for  no  more  than 
breaking  him,  and  the  remaining  four  for  acquitting 
him.  In  this  variance  of  judgment  they  continued  dis- 
puting it  for  six  days  together,  till  at  last  they  agreed 
to  compromise  it  in  the  manner  they  have  done. 
#  *  *  *  # 

I  ever  am,  dear  Mitchell, 

Yours,  &c.« 


ORTG1XAL    LETTERS.  397 


LETTER  CCCCLXIX. 

Mr.  Symmer  to  Mr,  Mitchell.     The  Opinion  of  tht 
Judges  taken  upon  Admiral  Byng's  Sentence. 

[ibid.  fol.  3a   Orig.\ 


London,  8"'.  Febr.  1757. 
»  »  «  «  * 

The  fate  of  Byng  is  what  occupies  almost  every 
head,  and  opens  almost  every  mouth  in  London.  The 
popular  torrent  is  against  him.  The  King,  it  is  said, 
has  declared  he  will  not  interpose  in  the  matter;  he 
will  not,  he  says,  interrupt  the  course  of  Justice ;  and 
as  it  is  the  business  of  the  Admiralty  Board  to  sign 
the  dead  warrant  of  those  condemned  by  a  Naval  Court 
Martial,  he  leaves  them  to  proceed  as  the  Law  in  such 
a  case  directs.  The  question  recurs,  what  does  the 
Law  direct  in  the  case  of  so  extraordinary  a  Sentence  ? 
It  is  reported,  and,  as  I  am  informed,  upon  good 
foundation,  that  the  twelve  Judges  are  this  evening  or 
to-morrow  to  meet  his  Majesty's  Cabinet  Council,  to 
give  their  Opinion  with  regard  to  this  matter, 

I  ever  am  sincerely  yours,  &c. 


898  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCCLXX. 

Mr.  Symmer  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  A  Motion  made  in  the 
House  of  Commons  for  the  mitigation  of  the  rigor 
of  Admiral  Byng's  Sentence.  The  Examination 
of  the  Members  of  his  Court  Ma^'tial  by  the  Lords. 

[ibid.  fol.  40.  Orig.'\ 


London,  March  the  4*.  1757. 
My  dear  Mitchell, 
Since  my  last  Letter  to  you  of  the  8'''\  of  last  month 
the  attention  of  the  public  has  been  almost  entirely 
taken  up  with  what  has  passed  with  regard  to  Ad- 
miral Byng's  extraordinary  Sentence.  The  Admiralty 
Board,  to  whom  it  belonged  to  order  the  Sentence 
to  be  carried  into  execution,  demurred  to  the  legality 
of  it,  and  humbly  requested  his  Majesty  that  the  opi- 
nion of  the  twelve  Judges  might  be  taken  upon  it.  In 
consequence  of  this,  it  was  laid  before  the  Judges,  who 
returned  an  unanimous  opinion  that  it  was  legal.  The 
Lords  of  the  Admiralty  thereupon,  with  his  Majesty's 
consent,  signed  the  Dead  Warrant  appointing  him  to 
be  shot  as  upon  Monday  last.  In  the  mean  while  a 
motion  was  made  in  the  House  of  Commons  by  Sir 
Fr.  D— — d,  and  supported  strongly  by  Mr.  P.  and 
the  new  M ry,  to  take  into  consideration  the  12''\ 


OttlGINAL  LETTERS.  399^ 

Article  (that  upon  which  Admiral  Byng  had  been  tried 
and  condemned)  and  to  give  leave  to  bring  in  a  Bill  to 
mitigate  the  rigor  of  it.  As  this  was,  in  other  words, 
to  move  for  an  Address  to  reprieve  or  rather  pardon^ 
Mr.  Byng,  which  must  of  course  have  followed,  the 
House  considering  it  in  that  light  evidently  shewed 
their  disapprobation  of  the  motion ;  and  upon  Lord 
Barr — n's  proposing  to  put  the  previous  question,  Mr. 
P.  who  saw  that  it  would  be  lost  for  Mr.  Byng  by  a 
most  extraordinary  majority,  desired  that  Sir  Fr.  might 
withdraw  his  motion.  This  attempt,  beside  the  ap- 
plication of  some  in  the  Ministry  humbly  made  to  his^ 

M ty  for  mercy,  having  failed  of  success,  another 

expedient  was  set  on  foot  in  behalf  of  Mr.  Byng.  Sir 
Fr.  acquainted  the  House  that  several  of  the  late 
Members  of  the  Court  Martial,  as  he  was  informed, 
were  under  great  uneasiness  of  mind  on  account  of  the 
Sentence  passed  on  Admiral  Byng,  and  that  they  were 
of  opinion  that  if  they  were  by  Act  of  Parliament  dis- 
charged from  their  Oath  of  Secrecy  they  had  taken, 
they  could  disclose  matters  that  might  shew  the  said 
Sentence  to  be  improper.  This  was  confirmed  by  Mr. 
Keppel,  one  of  the  late  Members  of  the  Court  Martial 
and  Member  of  Parliament,  who  rose  up  in  his  place 
and  declared  that  to  be  his  opinion,  as  also  the  opinion 
of  four  others  of  the  said  Court  Martial.  Upon  this 
a  Cabinet  Council  was  held,  and  the  Message,  a  copy 
of  which  I  here  send  you  enclosed,  was  brought  to  the 


400  OniGINAL    LETTERS. 

House.     In  that  message  you  will  observe  tliat  an  in- 
accuracy with  regard  to  one  of  the  great  privileges  of 
the  House  had  inadvertently  been    suffered  to  slip, 
which  you  may  be  sure  did  not  fail  to  be  animadverted 
upon  in  very  strong  terms.     Nevertheless,  after  much 
opposition,  it  was  unanimously  agreed  upon  that  such 
a  Bill  might  be  brought  in,  which  was  thereupon  im- 
mediately presented,  read  twice,  committed,  and  or- 
dered to  be  engrossed,  and  Tuesday  last  it  was  brought 
up  to  the  Lords.     Their  Lordships  received  this  ex- 
traordinary Bill  in  quite  a  different  manner  than  the 
Commons  had.    Lord  Mansfield  and  Lord  Hardwicke 
took  the  lead,  and  shewed,  with  great  strength  of  rea- 
soning, that  such  a  Bill  could  not  be  suffered  to  pass 
with  any  sort  of  propriety,  unless  it  appeared  to  their 
Lordships,  by  sufficient  evidence  at  their  bar,  that 
there   was  suitable  and  most  undoubted  groimd  to 
found  an  Act  of  such  an  extraordinary  nature  upon. 
Whereupon  it  was  resolved  that  all  the  late  Members 
of  the  Court  Martial  should  be  ordered  to  attend  their 
House  as  Wednesday  last.     On  Wednesday  they  ap- 
peared ;  and  such  was  the  expectation  of  the  public, 
that  I  think  I  never  saw  so  crowded  a  House.     Lord 
Mansfield,  supported  by  Lord  Hardwicke,  seemed  to 
take  the  management  of  the  Affair  upon  him  ;  and  both 
acquitted  themselves  to  the  satisfaction  of  all.     There 
were  two  plain  questions  put  to  every  one  of  the  Mem- 
bers of  the  Court  Martial,  called  separately  to  the  bar : 


ORIGIXAL    LETTERS.  401 

The  first, "  Do  you  know  of  any  matter  that  pass'd  pre- 
vious to  the  Sentence  of  the  Court  Martial,  that  shows 
the  Sentence  to  be  unjust?""  The  second,  "  Do  you 
know  of  any  thing  that  pass'd  that  shows  the  Sentence 
to  have  been  given  from  any  undue  practice  or  motive  ?*" 
To  each  of  these  questions  every  one  of  the  Members 
answered  "  No.""  It  was  further  asked  of  every  one 
of  them,  if  they  desired  the  Bill  might  pass  into  an  Act 
to  discharge  them  from  their  Oath  of  Secrecy  ?  and  all 
of  them,  excepting  Mr.  Keppel,  Admiral  Norris,  and 
Captain  Moor,  answered,  they  did  not  desire  it,  but 
severals  added  they  had  no  objection  to  it,  if  it  could 
give  any  satisfaction  to  others.  A  fourth  question  was 
put,  viz.  "  If  they  could  disclose  any  thing  that  might 
be  necessary  for  his  Majesty's  information,  or  likely  to 
incline  his  Majesty  to  mercy  .'"'*  and  all  of  them  (ex- 
cepting the  three  before  mentioned)  declared  they  could 
not,  the  most  of  them  referring  themselves  upon  the 
head  of  Mercy  to  what  they  had  added  to  their  sen- 
tence, and  their  Letter  to  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty. 
Such  was  the  purport,  if  not  the  very  words  of  the 
questions  put  to  them,  the  two  last  of  which  were  from 
Lord  Halifax  ;  and  such  were  their  Answers,  given  in 
the  clearest  manner  imaginable.  Upon  tlie  whole,  the 
conviction  of  the  House  was  so  strong,  that  there  was  no 
necessity  of  passing  the  Bill,  that  it  was  given  up  by  the 
few  Lords  who  favoured  it :  and  the  Proceedings  there- 
upon,  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  Nation,  were  ordered 

VOT,.  IV.    SFtt.  2.  I)    1) 


402  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

to  be  printed.  As  the  ferment  of  the  Public,  especially 
of  the  City,  has  been  very  high  upon  this  occasion, 
you  will  not  be  surprised  to  hear  that  some  particular 
Gentlemen,  one  in  particular,  have  greatly  suffered  in 
point  of  popularity  from  their  conduct  in  this  affair. 

V — It — rs  C 11  took  the  liberty  to  say  in  the  House, 

in  one  of  the  debates,  that  Admiral  Byng  had  been  the 

ruin  of  the  last  A n,  and  that  he  did  not  doubt 

but  that  he  would  be  the  ruin  likewise  of  this.  Many 
are  of  his  opinion.  You  may  hear  more  of  this.  Be 
surprised  at  nothing. 

Mr.  Byng's  respite  terminates  Monday  se'nnight, 
the  14^1'.  instant,  when  if  nothing,  I  may  say,  preter- 
natural happens,  he  must  be  shot. 

I  am,  my  dear  Mitchell, 

Yours  most  sincerely. 


LETTER  CCCCLXXI. 

Mr.  Symmer  to  Mr.  Mitchell.    Admiral  Byng  has  but 
three  days  to  live. 

[ibid.  fol.  43.] 


London,  March  11,  1757. 
*  *  *  *  # 

As  I  find  that  the  Proceedings  in  the  House  of 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  *  403 

Lords  in  the  Case  of  Admiral  Byng  do  not  make  a 
Pamphlet  of  too  large  a  size  to  go  by  the  Post,  I  here- 
with forward  it  to  you.  The  Trial  is  made  up  into  a 
proper  pacquet  and  waits  at  Lord  Holderness's  Office 
to  go  by  the  first  Messenger  that  shall  be  despatched 
to  you. 

The  unhappy  subject  of  all  this,  Poor  Byng,  has 
but  three  days  to  live ;  Monday  being  fixed  for  the 
day  of  his  execution,  without  the  least  apparent  pro- 
bability, I  may  say  possibility,  of  a  Reprieve,  much 
less  a  pardon. 

There  is  indeed  a  report  current  to-day,  that  the 
Common  Council  of  the  City  have  some  sort  of  a  de- 
sire of  petitioning  in  his  favour.  If  they  should,  it  can 
be  of  no  effect.  They  are  so  far  from  being  the  mouth 
of  the  City,  that  their  voice  runs  counter,  almost  upon 
every  great  occasion,  to  the  genuine  voice  of  that  re- 
spectable Body.  If  the  King  had  thought  fit  to  have 
spared  Byng,  and  that  such  had  been  the  prevailing 
wish  of  the  people,  the  Common  Council  would  cer- 
tainly have  petitioned  against  him. 

With  regard  to  the  state  of  the  present  Administrar- 
tion  I  have  little  or  nothing  to  add  to  my  last  Letter. 
Affairs  are  in  a  manner  all  afloat.  The  Dike  of  Popu- 
larity being  broke  down,  they  lie  open  to  inundation. 
Nothing  can  save  them,  but  that  the  different  Streams 
may  perhaps  not  be  brought  to  unite  in  one  main 
Current. 

D  D  2 


404  '  ORTGTNAL    LETTEBS. 


LETTER  CCCCLXXII. 

The  Right  Hon.  William  Pitt,  afterwards  Earl  of 
Chatham,  to  Mr.  Mitchell.     Expresses  his  attach- 
ment to,  and  admiration  of  the  King  of  Prussia. 

[ibid.  vol.  xxii.  fol.  3.   Orig.'\ 


(Private.)  Whitehall,  March  Sl^t.  1757- 

Sir, 

The  favour  of  your  Letter  from  Dresden  of  the 
12*.  inst.  is  every  way  too  interesting  to  remain  one 
moment  unacknowledged.  The  infinite  condescension 
and  gracious  goodness  of  his  Prussian  Majesty  towards 
me,  I  feel  as  I  ought,  and  consequently  can  express 
but  very  inadequately  the  most  grateful  sentiments  of 
veneration  and  zeal  for  a  Prince,  who  stands  the  un- 
shaken bulwark  of  Europe,  against  the  most  powerful 
and  malignant  confederacy  that  ever  yet  has  threatened 
the  independence  of  mankind. 

I  need  not  add,  that  I  should  be  most  unworthy  of 
the  honour  of  serving  the  best  of  Sovereigns,  if  my 
zeal  for  the  prosperity  and  glory  of  so  firm  and  mag- 
nanimous an  Ally,  did  not  endeavour  to  keep  some 
pace  with  the  sentiments  of  his  Majesty''s  own  royal 
breast.     I  will  trust  to  your  friendship  to  employ  the 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  405 

properest  and  most  expressive  terms  to  lay  at  the  King 
of  Prussia's,  feet  my  real  sentiments  of  attachment  and 
admiratiOTi. 

I  may  now  come  to  a  very  pleasing  and  valuable  part 
of  your  Letter,  where,  in  most  obliging  expressions, 
you  mention  old  acquaintance  and  friendship.  I  shall 
have  a  particular  pleasure  in  cultivating  the  honour  of 
your  kind  remembrance,  and  desire  you  will  remain 
assured  that  no  one  is  with  more  truth  and  regard  than 
myself. 

Dear  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient 

and  most  humble  servant, 

W.  PITT. 


LETTER  CCCCLXXIII. 

Mr.  Symmer  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  The  King  and  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland  have  the  Gout  for  the  first 
time. 

[ibid.  voL  xxxviii.  fol.  113.] 


London,  \TK  Nov.  1758. 
#  *  #  #  * 

The  King  was  taken  ill  of  a  cold  upon  his  coming 
to  Town  Wednesday  last  week.     That  did  not  hinder 


406  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

him  to  appear  and  to  undergo  the  fatiguing  honours 
of  his  Birth-day,  Friday  last,  though  every  body  took 
notice  of  the  indisposition  he  labour'd  under.  He 
likewise  made  a  shift  to  appear,  for  a  few  moments, 
the  Sunday  following.  From  that  time  he  submitted 
to  a  confinement  in  his  private  apartments ;  every  body 
was  alarmed ;  on  Wednesday  and  Yesterday  a  report 
was  current  in  the  City  he  was  dead,  and  numbers  of 
people  hurried  to  the  shops  to  buy  their  mourning 
clothes.  No  doubt  but  that  something  of  this  report 
will  get  into  Foreign  Gazettes.  I  think  it  therefore 
proper  for  me  to  tell  you,  and  it  is  with  the  greatest 
satisfaction  I  give  you  the  information,  that  this  is 
nothing  but  a  false  alarm.  His  Majesty's  indisposition 
has  taken  a  very  favourable  turn.  In  short,  it  has  ended 
in  the  Gout,  and  he  is  now  confined  to  his  chair,  a  good 
deal  out  of  humour  to  be  so  confined,  and  pretty  much 
in  pain,  but  in  other  respects  in  very  good  health. 
This  is  a  distemper  that  seems  to  be  somewhat  epide- 
mical at  present  in  the  Royal  Family.  The  Duke  is 
confined  to  his  apartment  on  the  same  account,  and 
likewise  for  the  first  time ;  for  neither  His  Majesty  nor 
He  had  ever  an  avowed  attack  of  the  Gout  before. 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS.  407 


LETTER  CCCCLXXIV. 

Mr.  Pitt  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  The  King  of  Prussia  in- 
tercedes for  the  Pardon  of  the  Lord  Marischal. 
Mr.  Pitfs  veneration  for  the  King-  of  Prussia. 

[ibid.  vol.  xxiL  fol.  21.  Orig.] 

*,*  George  tenth  Earl  Marischal  was  bom  about  1693,  and  succeeded 
his  father  in  1712.  On  February  the  3*.  1714,  Queen  Anne  gave  him 
the  command  of  the  Scottish  troop  of  horse  grenadier  guards.  He  signed 
the  Proclamation  of  King  George  the  First  August  1*'.  1714 ;  but  being 
unacceptable  to  the  Duke  of  Argyll  he  was  deprived  of  his  command. 
The  Earl  set  out  for  Scotland  in  disgust,  and  in  the  following  year  entered 
rashly  into  the  Rebellion. 

An  act  of  Attainder  now  passed  against  Earl  Marischal,  his  titles,  and 
hereditary  office  of  Marischal  of  Scotland,  which  last  had  been  in  his 
family  from  the  time  of  M^colm  the  Second. 

Escaping  abroad,  he  returned  to  Scotland  in  1719  with  the  Spanish 
troops  sent  by  Cardinal  Alberoni. 

The  Spaniards  were  defeated,  and  the  Earl  a  second  time  escaped  to 
the  Continent 

He  resided  for  some  time  in  Spain  in  straitened  circumstances,  but  at 
last  went  to  Prussia,  where  he  gained  the  friendship  of  Frederick  III. 
who,  in  1750,  sent  him  his  ambassador  extraordinary  to  the  Court  of 
France  ;  invested  him  with  the  Order  of  the  Black  Eagle ;  and  gave  him 
the  government  of  Neufchatel.  In  1 759  he  was  ambassador  from  Prussia 
to  the  Court  of  Madrid,  where  discovering  the  secret  of  the  Family  Com- 
pact, by  which  the  different  branches  of  the  House  of  Bourbon  had  bound 
themselves  to  assist  each  other,  he  communicated  that  important  intelli- 
gence  to  Mr.  Pitt,  who  representing  his  lordship's  case  to  King  George 
the  Second,  a  pardon  was  granted  to  him  May  29"'.  1759. 

From  the  Letter  immediately  before  the  Reader,  and  from  the  Letter 
which  follows  it,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  King  of  Prussia  had  also  inter- 
posed in  his  favour.*     Having  quitted  Madrid,  he  came  to  England, 

»  Nor  was  Earl  Marischal  less  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell.  In 
a  Letter  dated  "  Madrid  cc  24  Aout  mo,"  he  says,  "  I  am  most  gratefully  ac- 


408  ORIGINAL    LETTEllS* 

and  was  introduced  to  King  George  the  Second,  June  IS'*".  17C0.  His 
former  disabilities  were  further  removed  by  an  Act  of  Parliament 
33  Geo.  II. 

Having  recovered  a  portion  of  his  family  estates  under  another  act, 
Stat.  1  Geo.  III.  c.  14."  he  intended  to  have  settled  in  Scotland,  and 
came  there  for  a  time ;  but  at  the  King  of  Prussia's  earnest  solicitation 
he  returned  to  Prussia,  where  he  died  at  Potsdam  May  28"".  1778.'' 


Private.  - 

Sir, 
You  will  be  informed  by  the  Earl  of  Holdernesse, 
now  returned  from  Bath,  of  the  pleasure  His  Majesty 
took  in  complying  with  the  wishes  of  the  King  of 
Prussia  in  favour  of  Lord  Marshal ;  and  I  have  only 
to  add  on  the  subject,  that  nothing  was  left  for  the 
King's  servants  to  do  on  the  occasion  but  to  admire 
the  generosity  and  clemency  of  two  great  Monarchs 
displaying  themselves  so  amiably,  and  to  be  happy  in 
the  growing  harmony  and  confidential  friendship  which 
daily  manifest  themselves  between  their  Majesties. 

knowlcdgiiig  of  the  gooiliiess  of  both  the  Kinj^s  towards  me,  and  also  of  your  good 
offices,  for  I  know  by  Baron  Knyphausen  that  before  he  dehvered  the  King  of 
Prussia's  Letter,  the  King  of  England  was  already  disposed  to  grant  my  pardon. 
Voii  had,  it  seems,  previously  prepared  well  the  way,  as  I  have  writ  to  my  friends 
in  Scotland,  that  they  may  know  the  obligation  I  think  I  have  to  you. 
»  *  »  *  * 

"  I  know  from  Baron  Knyphausen  not  only  the  King's  goodness  and  clemency, 
but  also  the  favour  of  his  Ministers  towards  me ;  whatever  more  they  shall  add  shall 
be  with  gratitude  received ;  and  to  them  I  leave  it." 

»  Earl  Marischal  writes  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell,  in  the  following  terms,  from 
London,  February  22''.  1761.  "  You  will  see  perhaps  by  the  public  papers  that  my 
Bill  has  passed  both  Houses ;  the  King  made  notify  by  his  Ministers  his  consent. 
It  would  have  passed  in  a  way  much  more  advantageous  to  me,  had  it  not  been  for 

one  Webb,  a  Member  of  Parliament,  an  attorney,  and  esteemed  by  all  a  K 1  do 

not  mean  a  King.  Had  it  not  been  for  Mr.  Nugent  of  the  Treasury  he  had  furtive- 
ment  thrust  into  my  Bill  unperceived  a  clause  which  would  have  given  to  me  and  to 
my  heirs,  by  Act  of  Parliament,  a  law-suit  of  fifty  years. 

"  MARISCHALl,." 

V  Compare  Wood's  edit,  of  Douglas's  Peerage  of  Scotland,  vol.  ii.  pp.  1D6,  197. 


ORIGINAJ.    LETTERS.  409 

The  approbation  the  King  of  Prussia  is  pleased  to 
express  to  you  of  the  measures  pursued,  and  of  the 
fair  and  honest  proceedings  of  the  King's  servants, 
fills  me  with  the  deepest  satisfaction  and  sincerest  joy 
for  the  public ;  at  the  same  time  that  the  distinguished 
protection  and  infinite  condescension  of  that  heroic 
monarch  towards  the  least  amongst  them  have  indeed 
left  me  under  impressions  beyond  the  power  of  words, 
and  in  addition  to  all  the  warmest  sentiments  which 
my  heart  has  long  devoted  to  the  greatest  of  Kings  and 
pride  of  human  nature,  gratitude,  that  can  only  cease 
with  my  life,  has  completed  the  ties  of  inviolable 
attachment. 

I  have  the  pleasure  to  acquaint  you  that,  this  day, 
the  pecuniary  succour  to  Prussia,  and  the  subsidy  to 
the  Landgrave,  together  with  nineteen  thousand  Hes- 
sians for  this  year,  passed  the  Committee,  with  one 
voice  only  against  it.  I  return  you  many  thanks  for 
your  obliging  presents,  and  desire  you  will  be  per- 
suaded that  I  shall  be  happy  in  the  occasions  of  testi- 
fying the  great  truth  and  consideration  with  which  I 
remain. 

Dear  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

W.    PITT. 

Whitehall, 
Jan.26'M759. 


410  ORIGINAL  LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCCLXXV. 

Lord  Holdernesse  to  Mr.  Mitchell^  upon  the  Pardon  of 
the  Lord  Mareschal. 

[ibid.  vol.  xiv.  fol.  4.  Orig-.] 

Private. 

Whitehall,  Jan.  27"'.  1759. 
Dear  Sir, 
As  I  hope  soon  to  have  occasion  to  despatch  a  mes- 
senger to  you  I  shall  give  you  little  trouble  by  this 
post,  but  I  could  not  forbear  acquainting  you,  without 
loss  of  time,  that  in  consideration  of  the  King  of 
Prussia's  application  His  Majesty  is  pleased  to  consent 
to  pardon  the  late  Lord  Marshall.  You  know  the 
precautions  that  by  the  Constitution  we  are  obliged  to 
take,  in  Cases  of  Attainder  for  Treason  by  Act  of 
Parliament,  so  that  I  cannot  yet  tell  in  what  shape 
this  affair  will  be  earned  into  execution,  but  it  will 
suffice  for  the  present,  that  you  should  know  it  will  be 
done. 

*  #  *  #  # 

Dear  Sir, 
Your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

HOLDERNESSE. 

Mr.  Mitchell. 


ORIGINAL    LETTEBS.  411 


LETTER  CCCCLXXVI. 

Mr.  Pitt  to  Mr.  Mitchell.     His  respect  and  reverence 
for  the  King  of  Prussia. 

[ibid.  vol.  xxiL  fol.  23.  Orig>'\ 


Whitehall,  June  the  12''.  1759- 
Dear  Sir, 

I  WILL  not  trouble  you  here  with  regard  to  my  De- 
spatch to  Mr.  Porter,  a  copy  whereof,  in  your  cypher, 
is  transmitted  to  you  by  the  Earl  of  Holdernesse  in 
order  to  be  communicated  to  the  King  of  Prussia,  and 
relative  whereto  Baron  Knyphalisen  has  writ  so  fully 
and  so  fairly  to  his  Court.  I  will  only  say  on  this 
subject,  that  we  do  more  than  I  dared  to  hope ;  indeed 
all  that  we  possibly  can ;  and  far  beyond  that  to  which 
any  imaginable  consideration  but  the  just  weight  of 
His  Prussian  Majesty,  could  ever  have  carried  us. 

What  I  sat  down  only  to  do,  is  to  acknowledge  the 
favour  of  your  very  obliging  private  Letter  of  the  20^h. 
past,  and  to  give  some  expressions  in  a  short  word,  to 
the  deep  and  lively  sentiments  of  most  respectful  gra- 
titude and  veneration  which  such  a  testimony  from 
such  a  Monarch  must  engrave  for  ever  in  a  heart 
already  filled  with  admiration  and  devotion. 

Truly  dear  ab  His  Prussian  Majesty's  interests  are 


4)12  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

to  me,  it  is  my  happiness  to  be  able  to  say,  that  if  any 
servant  of  the  King  could  forget  (a  thing,  I  trust,  is 
impossible)  what  is  due  by  every  tie  to  such  an  Ally,  I 
am  persuaded  His  Majesty  would  soon  bring  any  of  us 
to  our  memory  again.  In  this  confidence  I  rest  secure 
that  whenever  Peace  shall  be  judged  proper  to  come 
under  consideration,  no  PEACE  ofUTRECHT  will 
again  stain  the  annals  of  England. 

Accept  yourself  my  best  thanks  for  the  obliging 
language  you  was  so  good  to  hold  of  an  old  acquaint- 
ance :  and  believe  me  with  great  truth  and  considera- 
tion, 

Dear  Sir, 

Your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

W.  PITT. 


LETTER  CCCCLXXVII.     ' 

Mr.  Symmer  to  Mr.  Mitchell.     The  Expenses  of  the 
War.     Lord  George  SacJcville  disgraced. 

[ibid.  vol.  xxxviii,  fol.  145.  Ori^^.] 


London,  14th.  Sept.  1759. 
***** 
How  much  do  I  wish  that  all  this  bustle  in  Europe 
were  over,  and  that  I  had  you  here,  in  the  quiet  Cabi- 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  413 

net  of  Mount-street,  to  philosophise  about  Electricity 
and  the  hidden  Powers  of  Nature. 

To  give  you  some  little  sketch  of  the  political  State 
of  Affairs  at  home,  I  must  acquaint  you,  that  the  late 
Successes  his  Majesty''s  Arms  have  been  crowned  with 
by  Sea  and  Land,  together  with  a  certainty  now  of 
having  nothing  to  fear  with  regard  to  an  Invasion  from 
France,  have  consolidated  the  power  of  the  Minister 
who  has  been  active  in  those  measures,  and  raised  him 
above  all  opposition.  The  only  apparent  difficulty  the 
present  Administration  has  to  struggle  with,  is  to  sup- 
ply the  expenses  of  the  war,  if  it  should  continue.  It 
is  computed  that  a  sum  not  less  than  eighteen  miUions 
has  been  requisite  to  defray  the  charges  of  Government, 
civil  and  military,  during  the  course  of  this  year. 
This  is  a  sum  so  immense,  that,  setting  aside  the  debt 
that  must  accumulate  upon  it,  there  is  not  a  nation  in 
Europe  could  bear  the  burthen  of  it  long.  The  weight 
of  it  begins  to  be  felt  by  us  in  a  very  sensible  manner ; 
and  indeed  it  is  amazing,  however  forward  people  are 
to  subscribe,  that  so  much  specie  can  be  found  as  is 
necessary  to  effectuate  that  expense.  Our  comfort  is 
that  it  must  go  as  hard  with  our  enemies,  in  conse- 
quence of  which  we  may  soon  hope  for  Peace. 

I  take  it  for  granted  you  are  no  stranger  to  what 
has  been  reported  concerning  the  behaviour  of  Lord  G. 

S le  at  the  Battle  of  Minden.     He  has  been  come 

home  now  some  days ;  yet  that  does  not  silence  the 


414  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

hawkers,  who  every  day  have  some  new  piece  of  scur- 
rility against  him,  to  bawl  about  the  streets.  The 
Pamphlets  already  wrote  on  the  subject  (none  of  which 
I  have  or  shall  read)  are  enough  to  compose  Volumes. 
What  is  most  material  is,  that  he  is  stripped  of  all  his 
military  employments :  and  that  when  he  demanded  a 
Court  Martial,  he  was  told  he  might  go  to  Germany 
to  have  it,  and  might  be  assured  that  whatever  sentence 
should  be  passed  upon  him  there,  would  be  confirmed 

here.     In  such  a  Country  as  E^ d,  and  with  a  man 

of  intrigue  and  abilities  as  Lord  G.  I  should  not  be  sur- 
prised if  in  six  months  hence  the  current  runs  another 
way. 


LETTER  CCCCLXXVIII. 

Mr.  Symmer  to  Mr,  Mitchell.     The  death  of  General 
Wolf 

[ibid.  foL  143.] 


London,  Oct.  26,  1759- 

*  «  *  *  * 

I  TAKE  it  for  granted  you  have  had  authentic  ac- 
counts of  our  great  success  in  America,  as  soon  as  it 
was  possible  for  you  to  receive  them.  I  should  have 
been  glad  however  to  have  thrown  in  my  little  in- 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  415 

formation  of  those  matters  at  the  same  time ;  if  it  had 
been  no  more  than  to  have  congratulated  with  you 
upon  the  joyful  part  of  the  news,  and  at  the  same  time 
condoled  with  you  on  the  loss  of  a  man  who,  as  a  Ge- 
neral, or  as  a  private  person,  is  hardly  to  be  replaced. 
I  need  not  tell  you  I  mean  Mr.  Wolf.  I  knew  him 
but  a  little :  but  what  I  knew  of  him  made  me  esteem, 
admire,  and  love  him.  If  you  were  acquainted  with 
him  I  am  sure  you  will  not  differ  in  opinion  with  me. 


LETTER  CCCCLXXIX. 

Lord  Barrington  to  Mr.  Mitchell.     The  Union  between 
the  Duke  of  Newcastle  and  Mr,  Pitt. 

[ibid.  vol.  XXXV.  fol.  21.] 


Cavendish  Square,  14  Jan.  1760. 

#  *  *  #  # 

If  I  were  to  give  you  an  account  of  the  past  and 
present  state  of  things  here  since  I  wrote  last,  I  should 
compose  a  Volume.  You  have  no  time  to  read  or  I  to 
write  any  thing  so  voluminous.  These  transactions 
will  amuse  us  in  conversation  when  we  meet,  but  for 
the  present  it  may  suffice  that  I  assure  you  of  the  union, 
cordiality,  and  good-will  which  reigns  at  present  among 
the  King's  servants :  it,  fortunately  for  them,  our  mas- 
ter, and  the  public,  is  such,  that  there  never  was  more 


416 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


at  any  period  of  our  time.  I  could  not  have  said  this 
three  months  ago,  but  I  can  safely  assert  it  now,  and  I 
think  there  is  every  appearance  that  the  same  happy 
temper  will  continue.  I  verily  believe  that  the  Duke 
of  N.  and  his  brother  did  not  more  cordially  wish 
each  other  to  continue  in  their  respective  stations, 
than  the  Duke  of  N.  and  Mr.  Pitt  do  now  :  and 
there  are  less  disputes  and  coldness  than  there  used  to 
be  between  the  two  Brothers.  This  union,  great  and 
extraordinary  as  it  may  seem,  is  nothing  in  comparison 
with  that  of  the  Parliament  and  the  Nation,  which  seems 
to  have  one  mind  and  one  object.  What  is  most  asto- 
nishing, the  object  in  which  this  whole  people  is  united 
is  wise  and  good.  Do  not  however  imagine,  my  dear 
Mitchell,  that  this  proceeds  from  any  improvement 
made  by  our  countrymen  either  in  wisdom  or  in  virtue, 
for  it  arises  solely  from  this  ;  no  man  who  can  raise  any 
sort  of  disturbance  finds  it  either  convenient  or  agreeable 
to  be  out  of  humour  at  this  time.  As  every  Speech, 
Pamphlet,  and  Paper,  are  full  of  panegyrick  on  the 
present  measures,  the  Nation  believe  it  is  all  deserved, 
and  think  they  were  never  so  well  served  nor  governed. 
Perhaps  they  never  were,  but  this  opinion  does  not 
arise  from  thence.  They  are  ready  to  carry  on  the 
War,  or  to  make  a  Peace  according  as  the  one  or  the 
Other  shall  be  recommended  to  them  ;  and  if  the  War 
continues  they  are  for  the  first  time  persuaded  it  will 
be  made  in  the  best  manner  and  in  the  best  places. 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS.  417 

These  are  happy  conjunctures,  my  dear  friend,  and  I 
hope  and  beheve  the  proper  use  will  be  made  of  them. 
*  *  *  *  * 

I  asked  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  to-day,  if  I  might 
^ve  you  the  comfort  of  knowing  that  you  were  weU 
with  him,  which  you  know  is  an  expression  of  his 
Grace's.  The  Duke's  answer  was,  "  no  man  in  Eng- 
land better,  and  so  I  desire  you  will  tell  him,  with 
many  excuses  for  not  answering  his  Letters.'" 
I  am,  my  dear  friend, 
most  faithfully  and  affectionately  yours, 

BABRIKGTON. 


LETTER  CCCCLXXX. 

Mr.  Mitchell  to  the  Earl  qfHddemesse.     The  Court 
(^France  uses  the  pen  of  Voltaire  to  draw  Secrets 
Jrom  the  King  of  Prussia.     The  King  of  Prussia's 
character  of  Voltaire. 

[ibis.  vol.  V.  foL  118  b.  mr.  Mitchell's  owk  copy.] 


(Secret.) 

Meissbn,  Thursday,  31**.  July,  1760. 

My  Lord, 

A  FEW  days  ago  I  received  a  Letter  from  Mr. 

Mackenzie,  his  Majesty''s  Envoy  at  Turin,  enclosing 

one  from  Baron  Edelsheim  to  the  King  of  Prussia ; 

VOL.  IV.  SER.  2.  E  E  - 


418  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

the  Originals  of  both  which  Letters  I  here  transmit  to 
your  Lordship. 

So  soon  as  the  Baron's  Letter  could  be  decyphered 
I  gave  a  copy  to  his  Prussian  Majesty,  which  he  read 
over  in  my  presence,  and  seemed  a  good  deal  provoked 
and  piqued  with  the  behaviour  of  the  Duke  de  Choiseul, 
and  not  much  pleased  with  the  conduct  of  the  Bailly 
de  Froulay.  The  next  day  the  King  of  Prussia  sent 
me  an  answer  to  that  Letter  to  be  put  into  our  French 
cypher,  which  accordingly  has  been  done,  and  sent  to 
Mr.  Mackenzie  under  a  merchant's  cover.  Your  Lord- 
ship has  a  copy  of  it  here  enclosed. 

***** 
Two  days  ago  happening  to  dine  with  his  Prussian 
Majesty  alone,  I  threw  out  by  way  of  conversation 
some  reflections  on  the  indignity  with  which  Monsieur 
de  Choiseul  had  treated  Baron  Edelsheim,  charged 
with  a  Letter  of  Credence.  The  King  of  Prussia, 
after  mentioning,  with  some  warmth,  the  weakness  and 
absurdity  of  the  French  Ministers,  replied,  that  Baron 
Edelsheim  had,  properly  speaking,  no  Letter  of  cre- 
dence, but  only  a  Letter  from  Minister  to  Minister  in 
which  even  a  blank  was  left  for  the  inserting  of  his 
name  in  case  there  should  be  occasion,  and  he  added 
that  as  to  the  seizure  of  the  Baron's  papers,  which  was 
the  only  reasonable  motive  for  arresting  of  him,  the 
French  would  be  disappointed  if  they  expected  to 
make  discoveries  by  them,  for  he  had  given  the  Baron 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS;  419 

no  written  Instructions,  and  they  would  only  find  a 
particular  cypher  which  was  of  no  consequence. 

I  then  took  the  liberty  to  observe  that  some  late 
Letter  his  Prussian  Majesty  had  written  which  had 
fallen  into  the  French  Minister's  hands,  seemed  to  have 
given  great  offence.  His  Prussian  Majesty  replied  "  I 
have  \trote  no  Letter,  but  one  to  Voltaire.''  I  ventured 
to  say, "  Perhaps  your  Majesty  may  have  in  that  Letter 
made  use  of  some  strong  expressions  with  regard  to  the 
Duke  de  Choiseul."  He  answered,  "  No.  I  think  I 
made  use  of  this  proverbial  phrase,  that  the  Duke  de 
Choiseul  was  possessed  by  ten  millions  of  Austrian 
devils ;"  that,  as  to  the  rest,  he  had  told  Voltaire,  he 
would  keep  to  his  alliance  with  England,  and  that  if 
the  French  had  a  mind  for  Peace  they  must  speak  out 
plainly ;  and  he  said  that  this  Letter  to  Voltaire  was 
an  Answer  to  oiie  he  had  received  from  him,  in  which 
Voltaire  had  assured  him  that  the  French  Ministers 
were  perfectly  well  disposed  towards  a  Peace. 

I  think  proper  to  acquaint  your  Lordship  minutely 
with  every  circumstance  concerning  this  affair,  which 
I  wish  may  agree  with  the  accounts  received  from 
other  parts ;  but  I  cannot  help  adding  that  the  King  of 
Prussia's  Correspondence  with  Voltaire  has,  on  this, 
and  former  occasions,  given  me  some  uneasiness  and 
suspicions ;  for  I  believe  the  Court  of  France  make  use 
of  the  artful  pen  of  Voltaire  to  draw  secrets  from  the 
King  of  Prussia,  and  when  that  Prince  writes  as  a  wii 

E  E  2 


4)20  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

and  to  a  wit,  he  is  capable  of  great  indiscretions.  But 
what  surprises  me  still  more  is,  that  whenever  Voltaire*'s 
name  is  mentioned,  his  Prussian  Majesty  never  fails  to 
give  him  the  epithets  he  may  deserve,  which  are  the 
worst  heart  and  greatest  rascal  now  living ;  yet  with  all 
this  he  continues  to  correspond  with  him.  Such,  in  this 
Prince,  is  the  lust  of  praise  from  a  great  and  elegant 
Writer,  in  which,  however,  he  will  at  last  be  the  dupe, 
for  by  what  I  hear  from  good  authority  of  Voltaire's 
character,  he  may  dissemble,  but  never  can  nor  never 
will  forgive  the  King  of  Prussia  for  what  has  passed 
between  them. 

I  am,  &c. 

ANDREW  MITCHELL. 


LETTER  CCCCLXXXI. 

The  Right  Hon.  William  Pitt  to  Mr.  Mitchell.     Ex- 
presses his  Joy  at  the  King  of  Prussians  Successes. 

[ibid.  vol.  xxii.  fol.  25.  Orig.'\ 


(Private.) 

Sept.  9*.  1760. 
Dear  Sir, 

I  CAN  not  let  a  Messenger  go  away  without  con- 
veying some  expressions  at  least  of  all  my  heart  feels 
on  the  glorious  and  stupendous  successes  with  which 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  421 

Providence  has  at  last  crowned  the  heroic  constancy 
of  spirit  and  unexampled  activity  of  mind  of  that  truly 
great  King  you  are  so  fortunate  to  contemplate  nearly. 
Never  was  joy  more  sincere  and  universal  than  that 
which  Mr.  Coccei's  arrival  confirmed  to  us ;  and  amidst 
a  whole  Nation''s  joy,  none  can  surpass,  if  any  can  equal 
mine. 

May  Heaven  continue  to  prosper  the  arduous 
work,  for  much,  very  much  yet  remains  to  be  done, 
and  other  wonders  to  be  performed.  May  all  prove 
propitious,  and  may  success  inspire  sentiments  of 
peace,  to  fix  at  last  this  long-fluctuating  scene  of  blood 
and  desolation,  and  to  give  stability  and  happiness  to 
the  fortunes  of  this  unconquerable  Monarch. 

Mr.  Coccei's  appearance  and  manner  fully  answer 
to  the  advantageous  portrait  you  make  of  him ;  and  I 
esteem  myself  happy  in  the  acquisition  of  that  gentle- 
man's acquaintance. 

Accept  my  best  thanks  for  the  volume  of  admirable 
poetry  which  you  was  so  good  to  send  me.  I  find 
there  the  happiest  imitations  of  the  Ancients :  the  de- 
licacy of  Horace,  and  the  force  of  Juvenal. 

I  am,  with  great  truth  and  consideration^ 
Dear  Sir, 
Your  faithful  friend 

and  most  humble  servant, 

W.    PITT. 


42^  ORIGINAL    LETTEKS. 


LETTER  CCCCLXXXII. 

J.  WrigJdi  Under  Secretary  of  State ,  to  Sir  Andrew 
Mitchell.  The  Reports  upon  King  George  the 
Second's  Will. 

[MITCHELL    PAPERS.    Orig.^ 


Whitehall,  Nov.  7"'.  1760. 
#  *  *  .#  # 

The  King's  Will  is  so  variously  reported  that  I  do 
not  presume  to  vouch  any  one  of  them.  That  of  the 
most  authority  I  have,  is,  that  he  left  only  ^£'35,000 
to  be  equally  divided  between  the  Duke,  Princess 
Amelia,  and  the  Landgravine  of  Hesse.  A  small 
parcel  of  Bank  notes,  about  .f'GOOO,  were  found  in  his 
drawer,  with  a  desire  of  them  being  sent  to  the  Coun- 
tess, which  with  two  thousand  guineas  the  King  found 
loose  were  sent  immediately,  and  I  hear  was  all  he 
left;  that  the  great  distresses  in  Germany  since  this 
War  began  had  run  away  with  all  that  he  might  other- 
wise have  left. 


LETTERS 


THE  REIGN  OF 


KING  GEORGE  THE  THIRD. 


In  any  Retrospect  which  future  times  may  make,  the  Reign  of 
GEORGE  the  THIRD  will  be  found  as  instructive  to  the  Philosopher 
as  the  Historian. 

In  duration  it  extended  to  the  full  limit  of  an  ordinary  life ;  in  great- 
ness of  events  it  had  no  parallel  in  the  Ages  which  went  immediately 
before  it.  It  was  marked  by  the  loss  of  a  vast  empire  upon  the  Western 
continent,  and  by  the  acquisition  of  sixty  millions  of  subjects  upon  the 
Eastern  side  of  the  Globe ;  by  the  dawn  of  restoration  to  the  Arts ; 
by  the  most  important  discoveries  in  every  science ;  by  the  greatest  naval, 
and  the  greatest  military  glory."  Nor  must  it  be  forgotten  that  George 
the  Third  released  the  Judges  of  the  land  from  dependence  upon  himself. 

The  Reader,  however,  is  not  for  a  moment  to  suppose  that  the  Letters 
here  presented  to  him,  form  any  thing  like  a  perfect,  or  even  a  continued 
Picture  of  the  Reign  of  George  the  Third.  They  regard  a  few  Occurrences 
only  in  a  long  Period ;  and  relate  mostly  to  the  earlier  Administrations  of 
the  King's  Government.  Some  will  nevertheless  be  found  amongst  them 
of  no  ordinary  import.  None  are  probably  of  higher  interest  than  those 
which  depict  the  conduct  of  the  Sovereign  himself  amid  trials.  The 
integrity  of  his  mind,  his  powers  of  persuasion,  the  kindness  of  his  heart, 
his  decision,  and  his  magnanimity  are  every  where  apparent. 

•  The  Regency  began  Feb.  3<'.  isil.    King  George  the  Third  died  Jan.  20*.  1820. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  42j 


LETTER  CCCCLXXXIII. 

Gen&fdl  Yorke  to  Sir  Andrexo  Mitchell.    TIte  opening 
of  the  Reign  of  George  the  Third. 

[MITCHELL  FAFEB8,  Vol.  XXXVii.  foL  161.    Oriff.] 


Hague,  January  8^^.  1761. 
Deae  Sir, 

I  HAVE  not  wrote  to  you  of  late,  because  I  really 
have  not  very  well  known  what  to  say  after  the  loss  we 
sustained  in  October;  and  I  was  desirous  to  see  a  little 
first  what  was  likely  to  happen,  as  well  as  to  learn 
whether  your  arrival  with  H.  P.  M.  at  Leipsic  might 
produce  any  thing  to  enlighten  my  understanding. 

As  we  seem  likely  to  continue  sometime  longer  in  the 
dark,  I  must  break  through  my  silence  to  wish  you  a 
happy  New  Year  and  many  more  agreeable  ones  than 
you  have  spent  of  late ;  Mr.  Coccei  the  second  furnishes 
me  with  the  opportunity,  and  I  won't  let  it  escape. 

I  do  not  know  whether  you  have  correspondents 
who  inform  you  exactly  of  our  interior ;  if  you  have, 
all  I  have  to  say  may  be  useless ;  if  you  have  not,  a  few 
lines  may  not  be  unwelcome. 

The  young  Monarch  has  ascended  the  Throne  in  the 
happiest  aera  of  the  British  Nation,  the  first  of  his.  family 


426  ORIGINAL   LETTERS. 

born  in  England,  in  the  prime  of  life,  with  a  good 
constitution,  and  with  the  good  opinion  of  his  subjects. 
He  has  many  amiable  and  virtuous  qualities,  is  rather 
timid,  but  since  his  accession  I  am  told  he  represents 
well,  and  spoke  his  speech  with  great  grace  and  dig- 
nity. He  received  all  his  Grandfather"'s  servants  with 
great  goodness,  and  pressed  them  to  continue  in  his 
service,  which  they  consented  to,  though  some  of 
them,  particularly  the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  was  in- 
clined to  retire ;  but  all  the  Whigs  in  the  Kingdom 
united  to  desire  his  continuance  in  employment,  and 
he  was  promised  the  direction  in  the  new  Elections, 
with  all  the  other  influence  he  formerly  enjoyed.  Mr. 
Pitt  has,  however,  the  lead,  and  Lord  Bute  has  a  dif- 
ficult game  to  play  as  a  personal  friend  and  favourite, 
with  weight,  of  course,  but  no  employment  of  business. 
This,  you  see,  must  occasion  new  scenes,  which  will  be 
represented  as  people's  passions  and  interests  lead  them. 
Hitherto  things  have  gone  on  smoothly  in  appearance, 
and  in  Parliament  unanimously,  and  the  only  thing 
which  occasioned  a  fluster  was  the  invitation  and  ad- 
mission of  some  Tory  Lords  and  Commoners  into  the 
Bedchamber ;  a  measure  which  I  should  have  no  ob- 
jection to,  if  concerted,  but  which  without  that  may 
rather  tend  to  divide  than  to  unite.  In  what  manner 
the  New  Parliament  will  be  chosen  we  shall  soon  see. 
1  hear  the  fashion  at  Court  is  to  say,  it  shall  be  a  Par- 
liament of  the  people''s  oAvn  choosing,  which,  in  these 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  42T 

times,  may  open  the  door  to  new  cabals  and  difficulties, 
though  the  principle  of  it  may  be  wise  and  honest. 

Lord  Hardwicke  has  been  much  caressed  by  the  King 
and  his  Ministers,  and  continues  to  give  his  helping 
hand  without  place  or  pension.  The  Duke  of  Argyle 
and  Lord  Bute  were  reconciled  in  an  hour,  and  have 
settled  their  matters  to  mutual  satisfaction,  which  I 
and  many  others  expected  would  be  the  case  whenever 
a  late  event  happened. 

The  Marriage  was  hotly  talked  of  for  some  time,  but 
that  is  now  subsided.  The  Saxe  Gotha  match  does  not 
seem  to  have  the  Voa:  Populi,  but  His  Majesty  has 
not  many  ladies  to  choose  out  of,  if  he  designs  to 
marry. 

As  to  the  War,  they  would  be  glad  to  get  out  of  it  if 
they  could,  and  His  Majesty  wishes  personally  for  it. 
One  difficulty  is  out  of  the  way,  which  is  Hanover,  for 
at  present  the  influence  from  that  quarter  is  quite  at  an 
end,  and  though  great  goodness  is  expressed  towards 
them,  no  partiality  or  any  appearance  of  it. 

We  were  in  hopes  because  France  was  ruined  that  she 
would  make  some  advance,  but  France  seems  to  take 
pleasure  in  her  ruin,  and  holds  her  tongue,  and  pretends 
she  will  make  another  campaign,  and  that  she  has  found 
the  money  for  it,  though  all  the  bankers  here  deny  it 
Had  the  expedition  against  Gottingen  succeeded,  I  am 
inclined  to  think  some  overture  would  have  been  made; 
but  I  don't  know  what  they  will  do  at  present,  imlesfe 


^8  OKlGINAL    LETTEllS. 

to  make  another  declaration  as  last  year;  perhaps  with 
the  same  success.  His  Prussian  Majesty  must  be  sup- 
ported if  possible,  and  no  one  in  the  British  Council 
has  any  idea  of  leaving  him ;  but  we  are  always  afraid 
for  him,  and  are  not  wise  enough  always  to  see  how  he 
can  be  assisted.  In  the  meanwhile  the  Season  is  again 
approaching  for  the  armies  to  take  the  field,  and  a  re- 
solution must  be  taken  before  that  time.  If  the  French 
^stay  in  Hesse  they  will  embarrass  us  greatly,  and  the 
wisest  thing  His  Prussian  Majesty  can  do  for  his  own 
interest  is  to  help  to  drive  them  away ;  he  would  not 
only  encourage  the  British  nation,  but  enable  us  tO 
negotiate  for  him  with  great  advantage.  At  Vienna 
they  are  not  too  flush  of  money,  and  the  accounts  I 
see  from  their  army  represent  it  as  very  much  shattered 
and  tattered,  and  that  they  shall  have  great  difficulties 
in  putting  it  in  order  again.  The  single  article  of  new 
clothing  them  again  is  a  very  considerable  object. 
Who  is  to  command  it  is  uncertain;  some  imagine 
Daun  will  not,  and  talk  of  the  Archduke  with  Laudohn 
for  director.  I  know  nothing  about  the  Russians, 
which  is  the  most  essential  to  be  informed  about ;  and 
as  to  the  Swedes,  I  hope  there  is  a  good  chance  for  their 
fceing  out  of  the  question  for  the  next  campaign,  if 
^;hings  go  on  as  they  are  represented  to  us. 

This  is  the  short  Sketch  of  what  I  know ;  if  any 
•thing  material  happens  which  may  assist  or  comfoi't 
jouj  I  will  let  you  know  it.     His  Prussian  Majesty 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS.  429 

has  a  faithful  ally  in  the  King,  and  one  who  will  not 
leave  him  in  the  lurch.  Whether  he  sees  any  light 
himself  to  extricate  himself,  besides  sheer  fighting,  is 
more  than  I  am  informed  of;  but  to  judge  from  what 
I  do  see,  I  should  not  imagine  he  has,  which  I  am 
sorry  for,  for  I  am  always  for  negotiating  even  in  the 
midst  of  fighting.  We  are  told  that  he  has  great  suc- 
cess in  completing  his  army,  which  is  astonishing ;  but 
his  Country  must  suffer,  as  all  parts  of  it  have  been 
ravaged  by  turns,  and  his  enemies  are  such  as  have  no 
bowels  at  all. 

Monsieur  Coccei  will  teU  you  all  the  anecdotes  of 
London  better  than  I  can.  He  seems,  as  well  as  his 
brother,  much  pleased  with  his  reception,  and  much 
delighted  with  all  that  was  said  to  him. 

Lord  Pembroke  left  the  enclosed  Letter  with  me  to 
be  forwarded  under  cover  to  you  by  the  first  oppor- 
tunity.    This  with  my  best  wishes  for  your  health  and 
happiness  is  all  the  trouble  you  shall  have  to-day  from, 
Dear  Sir, 
Your  most  affectionate  and  faithful 
humble  servant, 

J.  Y. 

My  best  compliments  wait  on 
Mr.  Burnet,  and  I  beg  to  be  kindly 
remembered  to  my  worthy  friend 
Mamitz. 


430  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

LETTER  CCCCLXXXIV. 

Lord  Barringtan  to  Andrew  Mitchell,  Esq. 

[MITCHELL  PAPEBS.  VOl.  XXXV.  fol.  27-  Orig.'\ 


Cavendish  Square,  5*''.  Jan.  1761. 
***** 
Nothing  can  be  more  amiable,  more  virtuous, 
better  disposed,  than  our  present  Master.  He  applies 
himself  thoroughly  to  his  affairs,  he  understands  them 
to  an  astonishing  degree.  His  faculties  seem  to  me 
equal  to  his  good  intentions,  and  nothing  can  be  more 
agreeable  or  satisfactory  than  doing  business  with  him. 
A  most  uncommon  attention,  a  quick  and  just  concep- 
tion, great  mildness,  great  civility,  which  takes  nothing 
from  his  dignity,  caution  and  firmness,  are  conspicuous 
in  the  highest  degree ;  and  I  really  think  none  of  them 
over  or  underdone.  After  so  much  panegyric  on  the 
Master,  you  will  not  expect  any  on  his  Ministers.  You 
know  them  as  well  as  I  do,  so  I  shall  say  nothing  con- 
cerning them,  but  that  if  three  of  the  number  can  agree, 
they  may  do  every  thing  for  themselves,  their  friends, 
and  their  Country.  Whoever  unnecessarily  breaks 
this  important  triumvirate  will  deserve  public  execra- 
tion, and  perhaps  may  have  it ;  for  I  tliink  the  Nation 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  431 

for  once  desires  quiet  both  at  home  and  abroad.  After 
telling  you  my  wish,  I  will  tell  you  my  opinion :  I 
think  they  will  agree  so  as  to  carry  on  business  to- 
gether ;  and  that  is  as  much  as  can  be  expected.  The 
distinction  shown  to  our  patron  and  friend  the  Duke 
of  Newcastle  has  done  him  the  highest  honour.  Never 
was  a  call  to  Government  so  universal :  it  was  not  to 
be  resisted,  even  in  the  opinion  of  those  who  thought 
he  should  retire.  He  certainly  was  himself  of  that 
opinion,  and  intended  retirement,  how  much  soever  he 
might  have  repented  it  afterwards. 

Adieu,  my  dear  Mitchell ;  preserve  your  good  hu- 
mour, recover  your  health,  and  be  never  a  moment 
without  the  most  confident  belief  that  I  am  most  sin- 
cerely and  affectionately  yours. 

HARRINGTON. 

p.  S.  I  ask  no  questions  about  myself,  but  I  am 
rather  of  opinion  I  shall  continue  Secretary  at  War. 


432  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCCLXXXV. 

Lord  Barringtan  to  Andrew  Mitchell,  Esq.      The 

Administration  settled. 

[ibid.  foL  29.  Orig.'\ 


Cavendish  Square,  23^.  March,  1761. 
My  dear  Mitchell, 

Some  time  since  I  acquainted  you  by  desire  of  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle  that  you  would  soon  be  a  Knight 
of  the  Bath :  I  wish  he  had  not  given  me  this  Com- 
mission, as  the  Ribbons  were  disposed  of  yesterday, 
and  you  had  not  one  of  them. 

I  have  expostulated  with  the  Duke  on  this  occasion. 
He  protests  it  is  not  his  fault,  and  that  he  has  the  most 
real  value  and  regard  for  you  ;  which  indeed  I  believe 
is  true.  I  hope  this  will  be  the  last  and  the  most 
mortifying  disappointment  of  your  life. 

Our  Administration  is  at  last  settled ;  I  think  well 
settled  in  the  main,  and  my  opinion  is  that  it  will  last. 
Our  friend  Holdernesse  is  finely  in  harbour:  he  has 
66*4000  a  year  for  life,  with  the  reversion  of  the  War- 
denship  of  the  Cinque  Ports  after  the  Duke  of  Dorset, 
which  he  likes  better  than  having  the  name  of  Pensioner. 
I  never  could  myself  understand  the  difference  between 
a  Pension  and  a  Sinecure  Place. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  43$ 

The  same  strange  fortune  which  made  me  Secretary 
at  War  five  years  and  a  half  ago,  has  made  me  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Exchequer.  It  may  perhaps  at  last  make 
me  Pope.  I  think  I  am  equally  fit  to  be  at  the  head 
of  the  Church,  as  of  the  Exchequer.  My  reason  tells 
me  it  would  have  been  more  proper  to  have  given  me 
an  employment  of  less  consequence,  when  I  was  re- 
moved from  the  War  Office ;  but  no  man  knows  what 
is  good  for  him.  My  invariable  rule  therefore  is,  to 
ask  nothing,  to  refuse  nothing,  to  let  others  place  me, 
and  to  do  my  best  wherever  I  am  placed. 

I  have  the  satisfaction  to  be  perfectly  well  with  my 
Royal  Master,  who  really  deserves  all  love  and  admira- 
tion, and  with  the  three  persons  whose  union  can  alone 
keep  this  Country  great  and  happy.  Perhaps  I  may 
contribute  to  the  continuance  of  it,  and  it  shall  be  my 
utmost  endeavour  to  do  so. 

In  all  situations,  my  dear  Mitchell,  I  am  equally 
your  friend  and  servant.  Use  me  always  as  such,  and 
believe  me  ever 

most  faithfully  and  affectionately  yours, 

BABRIlfGTON. 
Andrew  Mitchell,  Esq. 


VOL.  IV.  SER.  2.  F  F 


434  ORIGIXAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCCLXXXVI. 

Colonel  GrcBme  to  Mr.  Mitchell,  upon  Lord  Har- 
courfs  Journey  to  demand  the  hand  of  the  Princess 
of  Mechlenburg  Strelitz. 

[ibid.  vol.  li.  fol.  1.  Orig.'l 


Strelitz,  17  !'.  July,  1761. 
Sir, 
The  \5^^.  instant  I  received  a  Letter  from  Lord 
Bute  of  the  7'^'i.  enclosing  a  Copy  of  the  Declaration 
which  His  Majesty  was  to  make  to  his  Council  next 
day  the  8  '\,  a  Double  of  which  I  herewith  send  you 
for  your  information,  in  case  you  may  not  have  had 
any  account  of  it  from  England.  His  Lordship  also 
informs  me  that  Lord  Harcourt  was  next  day  to  be 
declared  Master  of  Horse  to  the  Queen,  and  named 
Ambassador  from  His  Majesty  to  make  the  formal 
demand  of  the  Princess,  and  conduct  her  to  England. 
That  his  Lordship  was  to  set  out  immediately,  and 
supposed  he  would  be  at  Strelitz  by  the  end  of  this 
month  at  latest.  This  information  his  Lordship  gave 
me  with  a  view  that  I  might  have  every  thing  in  readi- 
ness for  the  Princess's  journey,  so  as  my  Lord  Har- 
court should  not  be  detained  here  above  two  or  three 
days. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


435 


The  route  which  the  Princess  takes  from  hence  is 
through  the  Prignitz. 

The  Stages,         Mirow, 

Witstock, 

Pritzwalck, 

Perleberg, 

Lentsen, 
at  which  last  place  the  Princess  crosses  the  Elbe,  and 
enters  on  the  Hanover  territory.  The  Duke  of  Meck- 
lenburgh  conducts  the  Princess  to  the  Elbe,  and  is  to 
apply  to  the  Regency  of  the  Country  to  have  horses 
in  readiness ;  but  as  the  circumstances  of  the  times,  the 
situation  of  the  Country,  with  the  approaching  harvest, 
may  occasion  some  difficulties  in  the  supply  of  horses 
for  so  large  a  Retinue  as  the  Princess  will  have  along 
with  her,  I  thought  proper  to  inform  you  of  the  above 
particulars,  hoping  to  obtain  through  your  interposition 
with  the  Ministers  such  directions  to  the  Regency  in 
that  part  of  his  Prussian  Majesty's  dominions,  as  may 
obviate  all  difficulties  which  might  occur  to  retard  the 
Princess"'s  journey.  I  cannot  exactly  inform  you  at 
what  place  in  the  Prignitz  the  Princess  will  take  a 
night's  quarters,  but  I  believe  at  Perleberg.  The 
place  is  but  middling,  and  cannot  affiDrd  very  commo- 
dious lodgings.  I  hope  that  the  Magistrates  will  do 
their  part,  and  see  the  Princess  accommodated  in  the 
best  manner  that  circumstances  may  admit  of. 

I  regretted  that  I  was  not  fortunate  enough  to  have 

F  T   2 


436  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

the  pleasure  of  paying  my  respects  to  you  at  Berlin, 
to  which  place  I  lately  made  a  short  trip  to  satisfy 
curiosity,  but  shall  on  all  occasions  be  glad  of  any  op- 
portunity to  testify  that  regard  with  which  I  have  the 
honour  to  be. 

Sir, 
Your  most  humble  and  most  obedient  servant, 

DAV.  GR^ME,  Coll. 

(Copy  of  His  Majesty's  Declaration.) 
Having  nothing  so  much  at  heart  as  to  procure  the 
welfare  and  happiness  of  my  people,  and  to  render  the 
same  stable  and  permanent  to  Posterity,  I  have,  ever 
since  my  Accession  to  the  Throne,  turned  my  thoughts 
towards  the  choice  of  a  Princess  for  my  Consort,  and 
I  now  with  great  satisfaction  acquaint  you  that,  after 
the  fullest  information  and  mature  deliberation,  I  am 
come  to  a  resolution  to  demand  in  marriage  the  Princess 
Charlotte  of  Mecklenburg  Strelitz,  a  Princess  distin- 
guished by  every  eminent  virtue  and  amiable  endow- 
ment ;  whose  illustrious  line  has  constantly  shown  the 
firmest  zeal  for  the  Protestant  Religion,  and  a  particu- 
lar attachment  to  my  Family.  I  have  judged  proper 
to  communicate  to  you  these  My  Intentions,  in  order 
that  you  may  be  fully  apprized  of  a  matter  so  highly 
important  to  me  and  to  my  Kingdoms,  and  which  I 
persuade  myself  will  be  most  acceptable  to  my  loving 
Subjects. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  43T 


LETTER  CCCCLXXXVII. 

Colonel  Grceme  to  Mr.  Mitchell.   Preparations  Jbr  the 
Princess's  Journey. 

[MITCHELL  FAFERS,  IBID.  foL  5.   Orig.] 


Strelitz,  llt»'.  Aug.  1761. 
Sir, 

If  I  could  with  any  certainty  have  given  you  intel- 
ligence of  the  arrival  of  Lord  Harcourt  at  this  place, 
and  of  the  departure  of  the  future  Queen  for  England, 
I  should  not  have  failed  taking  an  opportunity  of  no- 
ticing one  and  t'other  to  you,  as  well  as  to  acknow- 
ledge the  receipt  of  your  obliging  Letter  of  the  20'''. 
July. 

I  yesterday  had  a  Despatch  from  Lord  Harcourt  at 
Stade,  where  he  landed  on  the  7'''.  He  is  to  be  here 
the  14*''.,  and  on  Monday  the  17'''.  the  Princess  sets 
out  on  her  Journey  to  England.  Lord  Bute  writes  me 
that  the  Duchess  of  Ancaster,  Mistress  of  the  Robes, 
and  the  Duchess  of  Hamilton,  Lady  of  the  Bed-cham- 
ber, with  Mr.  Herbert,  and  Dashwood,  come  to  attend 
the  Princess  to  England. 

These  are  the  only  particulars  relative  to  this 
Journey  M'orthy  your  notice. 


438  ORIGINAL  LETTERS. 

In  thePrussian  County  of  Prignitz  where  the  Princess 
is  to  pass,  all  Orders  are  given,  and  I  have  reason  to 
think  all  dispositions  made  that  may  make  the  journey 
expeditious  and  agreeable  to  Her  Serene  Highness. 

On  Thursday  I  send  a  messenger  to  meet  Lord 
Harcourt,  when  I  shall  send  him  the  Letter  you  sent 
me  for  his  Lordship  by  the  last  Estafette. 
I  have  the  honour  to  be. 
Sir, 
Your  most  humble  and  most  obedient  servant 

DAV.  GR^ME. 


LETTER  CCCCLXXXVIII. 

The  Eml  of  Harcourt  from  the  Court  of  Strelitz, 
to  Mr.  Mitchell  at  Magdeburg.  Preparations  Jbr 
bringing  the  Princess,  afterwards  Queen  Charlotte, 
to  England. 

[MITCHELL  PAPERS.  voL  Iviii.  fol.  33.  Orig.] 


Strelitz,  Aug.  17'h.  1761. 

Dear  Mitchell, 

How  unfortunate  am  I  to  lose  the  opportunity  of 

meeting  you  at  Perleberg  !  but  still  more  concerned  for 

the  accident  that  has  deprived  me  of  that  pleasure  of 

introducing  you  to  the  most  amiable  young  Princess  I 


>       OEIGINAL    LETTEJtS.  439 

ever  saw.  You  may  imagine  what  Reception  I  have 
met  with  at  this  Court  coming  upon  such  an  errand  as 
brought  me  here,  where  the  great  honour  the  King  has 
done  this  Family  is  seen  in  its  proper  light. 

I  reached  this  place  on  the  14tl\  On  the  15^''.  the 
Treaty  was  concluded,  and  dispatched  away  to  Eng- 
land.    U Affaire  en  verite  rCetoit  pas  bien  epineuse. 

This  little  Court  has  exerted  its  utmost  abilities  to 
make  a  figure  suitable  to  the  occasion,  and  I  can  assure 
you  they  have  acquitted  themselves  not  only  with 
magnificence  and  splendour,  but  with  a  great  deal  of 
good  taste  and  propriety. 

Our  Queen  that  is  to  be,  has  seen  very  little  of  the 
World,  but  her  very  good  sense,  vivacity,  and  cheer- 
fulness, I  dare  say  will  recommend  her  to  the  King, 
and  make  her  the  darling  of  the  British  nation.  She 
is  no  regular  beauty,  but  she  is  of  a  very  pretty  size, 
has  a  charming  complexion,  very  pretty  eyes,  and  finely 
made.     In  short  she  is  a  very  fine  girl. 

I  can't  finish  my  Letter,  dear  Mitchell,  without 
giving  you  the  strongest  assurances  of  my  affection 
and  good  wishes  for  the  recovery  of  your  health,  and 
that  you  may  live  to  return  to  your  Country,  and  re^ 
ceive  rewards  adequate  to  the  important  and  dangerousi 
services  you  have  been  employed  in. » 

1  must  detain  you  a  little  longer  to  give  you  a  short 


>  Mr.  Mitchell  often  rode  by  the  side  of  the  King  of  Pru«tia  iu  his  Battles.    He 
was  created  K.  h.  in  1765.    edit. 


440  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

account  of  the  very  unexpected  honour  His  Majesty 
has  done  me.  I  was  in  the  country  a  planter  des 
choux^  when  I  received  an  order  to  attend  the  Privy 
Council  in  which  His  Majesty  declared  his  intention 
to  marry.  Lord  Bute,  whom  I  honour,  and  to  whom 
I  am  personally  obliged,  desired  me  to  call  upon  him, 
and  he  declared  to  me  His  Majesty's  gracious  intention 
to  send  me  upon  this  honourable  commission,  and  to 
appoint  me  Her  Majesty's  Master  of  the  Horse,  which 
honours  I  expected  as  much  as  I  did  the  Bishoprick  of 
London  just  vacant. 

There  was  no  room  to  hesitate  one  moment  whether 
I  was  to  accept  such  a  mark  of  distinction.  I  waited 
upon  the  King  immediately,  whose  goodness  to  me  was 
such  as  ought  for  ever  to  attach  me  to  his  service,  if  I 
had  not  already  looked  upon  myself  as  one  of  the  most 
zealous  of  his  subjects.  I  happened  to  be  one  of  the 
few,  perhaps  the  only  man  of  quality  that  did  not  solicit 
some  favour  of  him  upon  his  Accession  to  the  Crown. 
He  took  notice  of  it,  and  was  pleased  with  it.  After 
what  happened  to  me  some  years  ago,  it  was  beneath 
me  to  become  a  solicitor  for  favours  and  employment. 
If  the  King  thought  me  worthy  to  be  employed  I 
knew  I  should  receive  some  mark  of  favour ;  if  not,  I 
was  sure  no  solicitation  would  signify. 

I  have  troubled  you  with  this  Account  because  I  am 
sure  you  will  be  pleased  to  see  an  old  friend  receive 
such  marks  of  His  Majesty's  regard. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  441 

If  I  can  be  of  any  service  to  you  at  my  return  to 
England,  you  may  for  ever  command 

your  most  sincere,  and  affectionate  friend, 

HARCOURT. 

I  will  take  care  that  not  only  the  Princess  shall  be 
convinced  of  your  attention  to  her,  but  His  Majesty 
also  and  Lord  Bute  shall  be  apprized  of  it. 

Col.  Graham  '  desires  his  compliments.  We  set  out 
this  afternoon,  but  we  shall  not  be  at  Stade  till  the  22^. 
Excuse  this  hurry. 


LETTER  CCCCLXXXIX. 

Lord  Barrinston  to  Andrew  Mitchelly  Esq.   Mr.  Pittas 
Resignation  of  the  Seals. 

[MITCHELL  PAPERS,  VoL  XXXT.  fol.  31.    Ortg.'\ 


Cavendish  Square,  5''.  Oct.  176L 
Dear  Sib, 
A  VERY  important  and  I  think  an  unfortunate  event 
has  happened  this  day.  Mr.  Pitt  has  resigned  the 
Seals.  For  some  time  past  there  has  been  a  difference 
of  opinion  in  the  Cabinet  as  to  the  conduct  proper  to 
be  held  with  Spain.     Mr.  Pitt  and  Lord  Temple  were 

*  Gneine* 


442  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

of  one  opinion,  which  they  gave  in  writing  to  the  King. 
The  other  Lords,  ten  in  number,  among  whom  were 
the  Dukes  of  Newcastle  and  Devonshire,  the  Earls  of 
Granville  and  Bute,  Lords  Mansfield,  Ligonier,  and 
Anson  (I  had  forgot  Lord  Hardwicke)  were  of  a  con- 
trary opinion,  which  they  severally  but  unanimously 
delivered  by  word  of  mouth  in  the  closet.  Both  parties 
adhering  firmly  to  their  way  of  thinking,  Mr.  Pitt  has 
taken  the  part  I  have  mentioned,  which  I  fear  will 
occasion  great  inconveniences  both  at  home  and  abroad. 
However  I  do  not  see  any  disposition  any  where  to 
change  the  system  of  the  War ;  or  to  make  peace  on 
improper  conditions.  I  do  not  indeed  at  present  see 
any  probability  of  the  thing  in  this  world  I  most  ar- 
dently wish,  an  honourable  conclusion  of  those  dis- 
tresses which  have  desolated  some  parts  of  the  Globe 
and  impoverished  others.  It  was  an  expectation  of 
this  happy  event  that  kept  me  so  long  silent.  I  desired 
to  obtain  my  pardon  for  the  seeming  neglect  of  which 
I  have  been  guilty,  by  sending  you  some  very  good 
news ;  but,  alas  !  I  see  no  hopes  of  a  pacification,  and 
my  favourite  scheme  of  union  between  the  three  great 
men  of  this  Country  is  at  an  end.  I  must  in  justice 
say,  it  has  not  failed  by  the  two  Lords;  and  I  have 
the  satisfaction  to  acquaint  you  that  they  are  thoroughly 
and  cordially  united. 

I  continue,  my  dear  Mitchell,  advancing  without 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  443 

application  to  advance,  or  indeed  desire ;  being  con- 
vinced that  I  have  long  been  placed  too  high.  When 
the  time  comes  for  my  retiring  to  the  situation  best 
adapted  to  my  nature,  I  hope  to  fall  easily :  I  promise 
you  that  your  old  friend  will  not  fall  in  the  dirt. 

If  the  public  good  and  the  duty  you  owe  to  the  best 
and  most  amiable  master  that  ever  lived  since  the  days 
of  Titus  would  permit  you  to  leave  the  station  you  are 
now  in,  it  would'  give  me  infinite  satisfaction.  Old 
friends  fall  off,  and  I  find  new  ones  are  not  so  easily 
made  as  I  thought  they  were  when  I  was  younger. 
This  makes  me  anxious  to  get  near  to  those  who  remain. 
Of  these,  one  is  gone  to  Ireland  as  Lord  Lieutenant,'* 
and  another  (Lord  Hillsborough)  is  going  thither  in 
order  to  settle  a  very  good  estate  which  Sir  William 
Cooper  has  left  him  in  that  Country.  Adieu,  my  dear 
friend,  believe  me  to  be  ever 

most  affectionately  yours, 

BAEEINGTON. 

•  Lord  Halifax. 


4i4  ORIGINAL    LETTERS, 


LETTER  CCCCXC. 

Lord  Barrington  to  Andrew  Mitchell,  Esq.  Lady 
Hester  Pitt  created  a  Peeress.  Mr.  Pitt  receives  a 
Pension.     Ministerial  changes. 

[MITCHELL  PAPERS,  IBID.  foL  33.    Orig.l 


Cavendish  Square,  9*.  Oct.  1761. 
Dear  Sir, 
I  HAVE  just  time  to  acquaint  you  that  Lady  Hester 
Pitt  is  a  Peeress,  Mr.  Pitt  has  a  Grant  of  .£'3000  a 
year  for  his  own  life  and  two  others ;  and  that  Lord 
Temple  resigned  the  Privy  Seal  the  very  day  that  his 
brother-in-law  got  a  pension  and  his  sister  a  coronet. 
George  GrenviUe  has  refused  to  be  Secretary  of  State, 
and  will  have  the  conduct  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
remaining  Treasurer  of  the  Navy.  He  is  already  a 
Cabinet  Councillor,  and  will  be  at  all  the  private  meet- 
ings of  the  Ministers.  However  the  Seals  go  in  the  fa- 
mily,, for  Lord  Egremont  has  got  them.  I  hope  you 
received  my  Letter  dated  last  Tuesday,  and  that  you 
believe  me  to  be,  dear  Mitchell, 

Ever  most  faithfully  yours, 

BARRINGTON. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  445 


LETTER  CCCCXCI. 


Lord  Barrington  to  Andrew  Mitchell,  Esq.  New 
Administration  under  Lord  Bute.  The  Duke  of 
Newcchstle's  Audience  from  the  King  upon  his  Re- 
signation. 

[ibid.  foL  37.  Orig.^ 


Cavendish  Square,  l^*.  June,  1762. 
Dear  Mitchell, 

The  new  arrangement  of  Administration  took  place 
last  Friday  and  was  not  settled  till  that  morning.  I 
was  not  able  to  write  by  the  post  which  went  from  hence 
Friday  evening ;  but  I  intended  to  write  fully  by  that 
which  sets  out  to-night.  However  I  can  only  at  pre- 
sent send  you  a  very  short  Letter,  referring  myself  to 
a  longer  which  I  propose  writing  soon. 

I  need  not  tell  you  who  compose  the  new  Treasury 
under  Lord  Bute;  or  that  my  friend  Sir  Francis 
Dashwood  is  my  successor.  You  were  immediately 
apprized  that  Mr.  Grenville  is  Secretary  of  State  for 
the  Northern  Department ;  but  perhaps  you  have  not 
been  told  what  passed  at  the  last  audience  the  Duke 
of  Newcastle  had  of  the  King,  when  he  resigned  last 
Wednesday.  His  Majesty  said  he  was  sorry  to  lose 
him,  and  should  always  remember  his  services:  that 


446  OinCINAL    LETTERS. 

he  feared  the  Duke's  private  fortune  had  suffered  by 
his  zeal  for  the  House  of  Hanover :  that  his  Majesty 
was  desirous  to  make  any  amends  in  his  power  in  any 
way  that  should  be  most  agreeable :  and  added  that  it 
was  a  debt  due  to  his  Grace.  The  Duke  answered 
that  in  office  he  had  never  considered  the  profit  of 
employment :  that  out  of  office  he  could  not  bear  the 
thought  of  being  a  burthen  and  charge  on  the  Crown : 
that  if  his  private  fortune  had  suffered  by  his  loyalty, 
it  was  his  pleasure,  his  glory,  and  his  pride :  and  that 
he  desired  no  reward  but  his  Majesty's  approbation. 

None  of  the  Duke  of  Newcastle's  friends  are  out  of 
employment,  and  he  wished  they  might  continue  to 
serve  the  Crown,  though  he  did  not  in  any  respect  ask 
their  continuance. 

When  I  carried  the  Exchequer  Seal  to  the  King, 
he  was  pleased  to  say  he  should  be  sorry  to  take  it  out 
of  my  hands  if  he  had  not  something  immediately  to 
offer  which  he  hoped  would  be  agreeable  to  me;  and 
which  he  gave  as  a  mark  of  approbation  of  my  services. 
I  kissed  his  hand  that  day  as  Treasurer  of  the  Navy. 

You  will  most  undoubtedly  lament  with  me  that  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle  should  retire  from  business  at  such 
a  juncture ;  but  if  you  knew  the  whole,  you  would  not 
condemn  the  step  he  has  taken,  and  taken  with  modera^ 
tion,  temper,  and  dignity.  I  can  add  no  more  than 
that  I  am,  dear  Sir, 

Most  faithfully  and  affectionately  yours, 

BARRINGTON. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  447 


LETTER  CCCCXCII. 

Mr.  Symmers  to  Andrew  Mitchell^  Esq.     The  Birth 
of  the  Prince  of  Wales. 

[ibid.  voL  xxxviii.  fol.  280.  Orig.'l 


London,  20  August,  1762. 
As  I  presumed  the  notification  of  so  great  and  joy- 
ful an  event  for  Great  Britain  as  that  of  the  birth  of  a 
Prince  of  Wales  would  of  course  immediately  be  made 
to  all  our  foreign  Ministers,  I  have  not  till  now  taken 
occasion  to  wish  you  joy  on  the  happy  occasion.  He 
is  a  charming  little  creature.  Mrs.  Symmer  and  I, 
along  with  some  other  company,  had  the  honour  and 
pleasure  of  seeing  him  to-day.  Sure,  if  ever  the  birth 
of  a  Prince  was  ushered  in  with  favourable  omens,  his 
is.  He  is  born  at  a  time  when  the  Glory  of  the  British 
Arms  is  at  a  higher  pitch  than  ever  it  was  known  to 
be  before.  He  had  not  been  come  into  the  world  above 
an  hour,  when  near  9,  million  of  treasure  taken  from 
the  enemy,  passed  in  a  procession  of  twenty  loaded 
waggons  before  his  windows.  And  before  he  was  six 
days  old,  an  account  comes  of  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant victories  that  has  been  obtained  during  the 
war,  that  of  the  Havannah. 


448  OllIGINAL    LETTEKS. 

The  8'h.  of  next  month  (the  marriage  day  of  the 
King  and  Queen)  I  hear  is  fixed  for  the  christening 
of  the  young  Prince ;  and  that  the  King  of  Prussia, 
the  States  of  Holland,  and  the  Princess  of  Wales  are 
to  be  Sponsors. 


LETTER  CCCCXCIII. 

The  King  of  Prussia  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell,  upon 
the  taking  of  the  Havannah. 

[MITCHELL  PAPERS,  vol.  xlii.  art.  125.  Orig.^ 


Monsieur, 
Je  partage  sincerement  la  joye  que  vous  devez  res- 
sentir  k  la  nouvelle  importante  touchant  la  Conquete 
de  la  Havane,  que  les  Armes  de  sa  Majeste  Britannique 
viennent  de  faire.  Vous  savez  toute  la  part  que  je 
prens  a  ce  qui  peut  regarder  sa  gloire  et  les  interets 
de  la  Nation.  Je  vous  sais  gre  d''ailleurs  du  compli- 
ment de  felicitation  que  vous  me  faitez  sur  la  prise  de 
Schweidriitz,  ne  doutant,  que  vu  les  sentimens  que  je 
vous  connois  envers  moi,  elle  a  deu  vous  interesser. 
Et  sur  ce  Je  prie  Dieu,  qu'il  vous  ait.  Monsieur,  en  sa 
sainte  et  digne  garde. 

FREDERIC. 

A  Peterswaldaw, 
ce  24'  Octobre,  1762. 

A  Mr.  Mitchell. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  449 


LETTER  CCCCXCIV. 

Mr.  Symmer  to  Sir  Andiew  Mitchell.     TJie  Prelimi^ 
naries  of  the  Peace  qfll^'H  arrive  ratified. 

[MITCHELL  PAPERS,  voL  xxxvui.  fol.  303.   Orig.\ 


London,  26  Nov.  1762. 
Dear  Sir, 
I  WRITE  to  inform  you  of  an  important  piece  of 
News,  though  I  doubt  not  but  you  will  receive  it  by  a 
more  authentic  channel.  This  morning  the  Prelimi- 
nary Articles  of  Peace  arrived  here,  with  the  full  Rati- 
fications. What  renders  this  of  greater  consequence, 
is,  that  at  this  critical  juncture,  when  even  a  shadow 
has  the  weight  of  substance,  there  was  a  diffidence  that 
hung  over  the  minds  of  many,  as  if  the  Ratification  of 
the  Preliminaries  might  still  have  met  with  difficulties, 
especially  at  the  Court  of  Madrid ;  and  by  that  means 
the  work  of  Peace  have  been  left  incomplete.  But 
this  is  not  all ;  by  what  I  have  heard,  it  seems,  this 
is  not  the  Ratification  of  Preliminaries  simply  as  such, 
but  indeed  of  the  Treaty  of  Peace.  If  I  be  rightly 
informed,  the  Articles  already  signed  and  ratified  are 
the  very  Treaty  itself,  and  that  accordingly  there  is  to 
be  no  Congress,  no  further  negotiations,  and  that  the 
execution  is  of  course  to  follow.     To-day  the  guns  of 

VOL.  IV,    SER,  2.  (i  G 


450  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

the  Tower  and  the  Park  have  been  fired,  and  to-mor- 
row the  Proclamation  is  to  follow.  How  this  will  be 
relished  at  the  Prussian  Court,  I  wish  I  could  say,  I 
know  not.  Nevertheless,  I  am  of  opinion,  that  when 
England  and  France  are  cordially  pacific,  (and  what 
both  nations  have  suffered  in  their  different  ways  ought 
to  render  them  so)  other  nations  in  Europe  will  not 
keep  the  sword  long  unsheathed. 

Yesterday  I  was  carried  to  the  House  of  Lords  by 
Lord  Hillsborough,  who  with  some  difficulty  got  me 
introduced,  and  planted  me  near  the  Throne.  There 
I  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  a  very  proper  speech, 
delivered  in  a  noble  and  pathetic  manner  by  one  of  the 
most  graceful  Princes  of  this  age.  The  dignity  of  the 
person,  the  solemnity  of  the  scene  formed  about  him, 
and  the  full  House,  could  not  but  affect  the  mind  of 
one,  who  you  know  is  naturally  addicted  to  what  vulgar 
souls  think  borders  on  romance,  with  a  peculiar  plea- 
sure. I  was  particularly  entertained  with  the  beha- 
viour of  the  French  Ambassador,  who  stood  at  the  foot 
of  the  Throne,  and  who  understands  English.  I  had 
him  in  my  eye  during  the  whole  speech ;  and  could 
perceive  he  felt  what  was  spoke.  The  Speech  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  Motion  for  the  Address  by  Lord  Egmont 
(who  spoke  like — the  Master  of  the  Post-office),  and 
was  seconded  by  Lord  Weymouth,  who  spoke  with 
grace  and  dignity,  though  with  the  timidity  of  a  young 
man.    It  passed  unanimously.    After  that  an  Address 


OniGINAL    LETTERS.  451 

was  moved  for  by  Lord  Aylesford  and  seconded  by 
Lord  Hillsborough,  to  congratulate  the  Queen  on  the 
Birth  of  the  Prince.     What  passed  in  the  House  of 
Commons  was  similar  to  this.     Lord  Carysford  moved 
and  Lord  Ch.   Spencer  seconded.     The  House  was 
unanimous :  but  Mr.  Beckford,  now  Lord  Mayor,  had 
his  vagaries  as  usual,  and  gave  the  House  a  little  pre- 
lude of  what  they  were  to  expect  more  at  large  when 
the   masters   mount   the   stage.      Lord  Temple  was 
not  in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  neither  Mr.  Pitt  nor 
Mr.  Fox  in  the  House  of  Commons.     The  Opposition 
will  open  upon  the  Preliminaries  Idid  before  Parlia- 
ment ;  and  is  like  to  be  more  formidable  than  was  at 
first  imagined.     Several  great  personages  have  of  late 
declared  themselves  in  it.    The  D.  of  C.  and  the  whole 
House  of  York  (I  mean  the  Hardwicke  Family)  but 
it  is  thought  that  all  who  will,  are  now  declared,  so  that 
the  first  division  in  each  of  the  Houses  will  show  the 
powers  of  the  parties.     If  the  whole  Opposition  lay 
within  doors,  it  would  still  be  more  tolerable,  as  it  is 
not  unconstitutional ;  but,  alas  !  there  is  reason  to  ap- 
prehend it  extends  without  doors.     Such  a  mob  was 
perhaps  never  seen  in  our  time  between  Charing  Cross 
and  Westminster  Hall.     The  King''s  magnificent  new 
Coach  might  be  supposed  to  have  brought  them  to- 
gether ;  but  what  kept  them  there  after  the  Coach  had 
gone  back,  is  perhaps  not  so  satisfactory  to  think  of; 
in  short.  Lord  B.  was  insulted  both  in  going  and 

G  G  2 


I   . 


452  OniGINAI,    LETTERS. 

coming  from  the  House;  and  towards  evening  some 
soldiers  were  sent  to  support  the  constables  in  the  dis- 
charge of  their  duty  in  clearing  of  the  streets,  so  as  that 
the  Members  might  get  away. 

Most  sincerely  yours.     Adieu. 


LETTER  CCCCXCV. 

Mr.  Symmer  to  Sir  Andrezo  Mitchell.  The  state  of 
Parties.  The  Duke  of  Newcastle'' s  sacrifice  of  Emo- 
lument.    A  Victory  gained  hy  Admiral  Keppel. 

[ibid.  fol.  305.  Orig.] 


London,  31  Dec.  1762. 
***** 
In  a  series  of  Letters  down  to  the  26*.  past,  I  gave 
you  the  best  Accounts  I  could  of  the  state  of  Parties  here. 
It  was  a  disagreeable  task,  for  every  thing  looked  gloomy 
about  us.  The  clamour,  and  I  may  say  mobbing,  with- 
out doors,  and  an  expectation  raised  very  high  of  a 
strong  opposition  within  doors,  filled  the  minds  of  many 
with  apprehensions  of  confusion  and  disorder.  The 
day  when  the  Preliminaries  were  to  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration, was  the  critical  day  assigned  for  the  explo- 
sion of  the  bomb  that  had  been  so  long  in  charging,  and 
that  had  been  represented  as  so  formidable.  But  how 
astonished  the  Public  was !  when  the  explosion  of  this 


OKIGIXAL    LETTERS.  453 

bomb  proved  to  be  but  the  bursting  of  a  bubble ;  and 
that  what  had  been  the  object  of  terror  became  the 
subject  of  derision.  The  Division  in  the  House  of 
Commons  was  329  to  65,  and  the  speaking  in  both 
Houses  greatly  superior  on  the  side  of  the  Administra- 
tion. In  the  House  of  I^ords  there  was  no  division. 
It  is  said  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  sent  a  Message  to 
his  Party  in  the  H.  of  C.  not  to  divide;  but  Mr. 
Dempster,  a  young  member  of  N.  B».  who  had  taken 
it  into  his  head  to  be  in  the  minority  on  this  occasion, 
took  it  likewise  into  his  head  to  bring  the  House  to  a 
Division,  which  exposed  the  nakedness  of  the  Part}'. 
There  were  two  other  things  that  weakened  the  Oppo- 
sition in  the  Lower  House.  Mr.  Pitt,  though  he  declared 
against  the  Terms  the  Administration  had  obtained  of 
Peace,  yet  he  refused  to  join  in  Opposition  with  the 
D.  of  N.,  and  taking  that  day  an  opportunity  of  apo- 
logizing, in  a  solemn  manner,  as  well  for  his  past  con- 
duct as  his  present  opinion,  he  made  an  effort,  which 
(from  the  bad  state  of  health  he  was  in)  he  sunk  under. 
He  s|X)ke  upwards  of  three  hours;  returned  often, 
though  weakly,  upon  the  same  ground ;  lost  himself 
sometimes;  lost  the  attention  of  the  House,  and  left 
his  friends  dispirited  by  the  appearance  he  had  made. 
The  other  accident  was,  that  Ch.  Townshend,  who 
a  few  days  before  had  resigned,  and  who  was  ex- 
pected to  have  broke  out  into  strenuous  opjiosition, 
made  one  of  the  best  speeches  he  ever  had  made  in  his 


454  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

life,  in  favour  of  the  Peace.  On  the  whole,  so  sur- 
prising an  eclaircissement  seems  to  have  had  a  decisive 
influence  on  the  present  state  of  Affairs.  The  Public 
talk  very  differently  of  the  Peace  from  what  they  did 
a  month  ago.  No  more  mobbing  now ;  no  infamous 
prints  are  now  hawked  about ;  and  if  the  halfpenny  on 
the  pot  of  beer  be  taken  off  (which  is  talked  of)  a  cer- 
tain person  will  even  become  popular,  and  may  have 
mobs  of  his  own.  In  short  nothing  could  be  more  fa- 
vourable for  the  establishment  of  this  young  admini- 
stration than  the  unsuccessful  attempt  that  has  been 
made  against  them.  This  event  not  only  puts  an  end 
to  Opposition  (at  least  any  formidable  one)  for  a  long 
time,  but  even,  in  a  manner,  to  News  itself;  for  public 
business  will  of  course  fall  into  a  regular  train  of  affairs, 
which,  barring  unforeseen  accidents,  will  produce 
,  nothing  new. 

At  present  we  have  nothing  to  talk  of  but  changes, 
which  fall  heavy  on  .the  Newcastle  party.  All  those 
of  his  Grace's  friends  whom  he  has  drawn  into  op- 
position with  him,  some  of  whom  are  little  able  to  make 
such  a  sacrifice,  are  or  will  be  turned  out.  It  moves 
one  to  compassion  to  think  of  the  poor  old  Duke  him- 
self. A  man  once  possessed  of  .-£'25,000  per  annum  of 
landed  estate,  with  .£'10,000  in  emoluments  of  govern- 
ment, now  reduced  to  an  estate  of  scarcely  .£'6,000  per 
annum,  and  going  into  retirement  (not  to  say  sinking 
into  contempt)  with  not  so  nuich  as  a  feather  in  his 


OUIGINAL    LETTERS.  455 

cap,  and  but  such  a  circle  of  friends  as  he  has  deprived 
of  their  Places.  The  three  Lieutenancies  he  had,  the 
last  things  he  continued  to  hold,  have  this  week  been 
taken  from  him.  That  of  Middlesex  has  been  given 
to  Lord  North,  which  will  greatly  increase  his  Lord- 
ship''s  power  and  interest  in  this  county. 

I  am  afraid  I  have  tired  you.  But  I  must  give  you 
a  piece  of  good  news  by  way  of  a  bonne  bouche.  Ac- 
counts came  yesterday  that  Admiral  Keppel  had  made 
a  capture  of  a  French  Fleet  of  eighteen  St.  Domingo 
rich  Ships  and  five  Frigates;  the  Prize  is  valued  at 
between  two  and  three  hundred  thousand  pounds. 
Adieu,  my  dear  Mitchell. 


LETTER  CCCCXCVI. 

Lord  Barr'mgton  to  Andrew  Mitchell,  Esq.     Still  on 
the  State  of  Parties  In  the  Debate  upon  tlie  Peace*  - 

[ibid.  vol.  XXXV.  fol.  41.   Ori^r.] 


Cavendish  Square,  13«'.  Dec.  1762. 
Dear  Sib, 
It  is  a  considerable  time  since  I  wrote  to  you,  for 
excepting  the  Peace  (which  you  had  an  earlier  account 


456  ORIGINAL    LETTEKS. 

of  than  I  could  send  you)  nothing  has  happened  that 
I  could  write  or  you  read  without  concern. 

I  was  in  hopes  till  Thursday  last  that  some  fortunate 
though  unexpected  accident  might  have  prevented 
those  divisions  which  threatened  to  destroy  the  unani- 
mity we  have  enjoyed  so  long.  The  die  is  now  cast. 
The  Duke  of  Newcastle  and  Lord  Hardwicke  spoke 
against  the  Preliminaries  in  the  House  of  Lords,  where 
however  there  was  no  division.  In  the  House  of  Com- 
mons 319  Members  voted  Thanks  to  the  King  for  the 
Peace  he  has  concluded ;  65  only  voted  against  those 
Thanks.  I  look  on  the  Opposition  as  now  declared. 
Whoever  dislikes  this  Peace  cannot  possibly  approve 
any  other  measure  of  this  Administration.  The  head 
of  this  Party  is  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  :  the  Duke 
of  Newcastle  is  supposed  to  be  thoroughly  connected 
with  His  Royal  Highness,  and  also  the  Duke  of  De- 
vonshire. Lord  Hardwicke  is  supposed  to  join  them 
no  farther  than  he  has  thought  himself  obliged  to  do, 
from  his  long  friendship  with  the  Duke  of  Newcastle. 
Lord  Royston,  his  eldest  son,  voted  in  the  House  of 
Commons  for  the  Address  approving  the  Preliminaries; 
the  Attorney  General  in  his  speech  commended  them 
on  the  whole,  though  he  expressed  a  wish  that  some  of 
the  articles  had  been  otherwise.  Neither  he  nor  his 
youngest  brother,  who  is  in  the  Board  of  Trade,  stayed 
the  division.  Mr,  Pitt  came  to  the  House  on  crutches, 
out  of  his  bed,  to  which  he  had  been  confined  for  some 


OKIGINAL    LKTTERS.  457 

weeks :  he  spoke  three  hours  and  twenty-five  minutes 
standing  and  sitting :  he  never  made  so  long  or  so  bad 
a  speech,  blaming  the  Preliminaries  in  general,  though 
he  commended  that  part  of  them  which  relates  to  the 
Cession  made  by  France  on  the  Continent  of  North 
America.  He  was  very  moderate  in  his  expressions, 
not  at  all  abusive,  declared  he  had  no  connexions  with 
others  supposed  to  be  opponents,  and  intimated  that 
he  should  attend  Parliament  very  little  this  Session. 

Your  friendship  for  me  will  allow  my  addmg  a  word 
about  myself.  You  know  my  attachment  for  the  Duke 
of  Newcastle  and  for  him  only  ;  and  you  can  therefore 
conceive  how  distressful  it  has  been  to  me,  that  I  should 
take  a  different  part  from  him  in  public  affairs.  I  very 
early  and  very  explicitly  told  him,  that  I  thought  sup- 
port of  Governments  duty,  while  an  honest  man  could 
support  it :  that  I  approved  and  even  admired  the 
Peace  which  the  Administration  had  concluded :  and 
that  I  had  long  agreed  with  his  Grace  in  thinking  it 
was  of  the  most  dangerous  and  mischievous  consequence 
to  continue  the  War :  that  I  could  not,  in  short,  contra- 
dict the  dictates  of  my  own  reason,  and  the  whole  of 
what  I  had  said  and  done  for  the  last  eighteen  years 
of  my  life.  He  continues  to  treat  me  with  great  fami- 
liarity and  friendship,  and  I  have  great  reason  to  hope 
he  does  think  I  act  from  principle ;  knowing  well  there 
never  was  a  time  when  even  he  could  prevail  on  me  to 
do  what  I  thought  wrong.     In  all  matters  which  per- 


458  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

sonally  concern  his  Grace  or  his  Administration,  I  am 
as  entirely  his  as  ever,  and  must  always  remain  so ;  of 
which  I  have  made  the  most  explicit  declarations  in 
every  place  where  it  ought  to  be  known.  Adieu,  my 
dear  friend ;  I  will  add  no  more  than  that  I  am 

ever  most  affectionately  yours, 

BARRINGTON. 


LETTER  CCCCXCVII. 

Lord  Barrington  to  Mr.  Mitchell.     The  subject  of' the 
Peace  continued. 

[ibid.  fol.  43.  Orig.'\ 


Cavendish  Square,  18'f'.  Jan.  1763.    . 

#  *  *  #  * 

The  Peace  is  less  disliked  in  the  City  than  it  was; 
I  believe  it  is  well  relished  in  the  Country,  where  no- 
thing is  made  by  war,  and  the  inhabitants  are  sufferers 
by  the  taxes  it  occasions.  Of  this  I  am  certain,  that 
the  opposition  to  the  Preliminaries  from ,  those  who 
when  in  Administration  had  invariably  asserted  a  ne- 
cessity for  Peace,  is  approved  no  where. 

You  ask  me  what  is  the  object  and  intention  of  our 
old  friend.  They  were  to  force  out  the  Administra- 
tion and  to  force  himself  in,  with  full  }X)wer.     This 


OEIGINAL    LETTEllS.  459 

having  failed,  I  think  he  is  at  a  loss  how  to  act.  Wis- 
dom and  Virtue  prescribe  retirement  and  quiet,  though 
too  late,  and  with  a  bad  grace.  But,  as  you  well  ob- 
serve, "  the  best  and  most  moderate,  when  formed  into 
Party,  may  be  carried  lengths  they  never  intended  to 
go."  .1  therefore  stopped  at  the  threshold,  and  I  have 
that  satisfaction  upon  reflection  which  you  so  kindly 
foretell.  I  should  indeed  be  perfectly  happy  in  my 
present  situation,  if  I  did  not  continually  lament  that 
of  my  benefactor  and  friend,  who  can  never  more  enjoy 
happiness  or  quiet ;  a  circumstance  which  does  not 
give  the  less  concern  because  it  is  of  his  own  making. 
All  those  who  followed  his  Ideas  in  either  House  of 
Parliament  are  removed  from  their  employments ;  and 
also  others,  very  near  and  dear  to  him ;  nor  is  there 
any  appearance  that  they  will  ever  be  re-instated  or  re- 
compensed. The  Parliament  meets  next  Thursday. 
If  any  thing  material  happens  you  shall  know  it  from 
me. 

V  V  ▼  ▼  ▼ 

Most  faithfully  and  affectionately  yours, 

HARRINGTON. 

It  is  not  known  wlio  will  be  President  of  the  Coun- 
cil. Lord  Granville  has  left  .£'8000  to  his  youngest 
unmarried  daughter,  and  the  rest  of  his  fortune  to  his 
son,  whom  he  never  would  see.  He  died  vastly  in 
debt. 


4G0  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  CCCCXCVIII. 

Frederick  the  Great  qf'Prussia  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell^ 
upon  his  receiving'  a  Copy  of  the  Treaty  of  Peace 
0/^1763. 

[MITCHELL  PAPERS,  vol.  xli.  fol.  129.   Or'ig.'X 


MoxsiEUE  Mitchell, 
Je  connois  tout  le  prix  de  la  diligence  que  le  Roi 
yotre  Maitre  vous  a  ordonne  de  faire,  pour  Me  reraet- 
tre  une  Copie  en  son  Nom,  du  Traite  definitif  de  Paix 
que  Sa  Majeste  vient  de  conclure.  Vous  Tassurerez, 
Je  vous  en  prie,  de  la  parfaite  reconnoissance  que  Je  lui 
en  ai,  et  de  la  joye  que  Je  partage  avec  lui,  sur  un 
ouvrage  si  digne  de  lui  et  si  salutaire  a  toute  FEurope. 
Je  vous  sais  gre  d'ailleurs  de  rempressement  que  vous 
avez  eu  a  satisfaire  ces  ordres.  Je  suis  persuade  de  la 
sineerite  des  sentiments  que  vous  me  temoignez  a  Toc- 
casion  de  ma  Paix  conclue  avec  les  Cours  de  Vienne 
et  de  Dresde.  Le  Compliment  que  vous  m'en  faites, 
m'*a  ete  ainsi  tres  agreable,  et  vous  pouvez  compter  de 
votre  part,  sur  Taffectueuse  estime  que  Je  vous  con- 
serverai  toujours.  Sur  ce  Je  prieDieu,  qu''il  vous  ait, 
Monsieur  Mitchell,  en  sa  sainte  et  digne  garde. 

FREDERIC. 

a  Dahlen,  ce  96  de  Mars,  1763. 
a  Mr.  Mitchell,  a  Berlin. 


ORIGINAL    LETTEns.  461 


LETTER  CCCCXCIX. 

Lord  Barrington  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  Lord  Bute's  retire- 
ment Jrom  Office.  He  details  the  Changes  of  the 
Administration  which  were  to  take  place  the  next 
day. 

[ibid.  vol.  XXXV.  fol.  45.   Orig.\ 


Cavendish  Square,  ll>h  April,  1763. 
Dear  Sir, 
Lord  Bute  resigned  last  Friday.     He  will  have  no 
office  ;  and  declares  he  will  not  be  Minister  behind  the 
curtain,  but  give  up  business  entirely.     The  reasons 
he  gives  for  this  step  are,  that  he  finds  that  the  dislike 
taken  to  him  has  lessened  the  popularity  which  the 
King  had  and  ought  to  have ;  that  he  hopes  his  retire- 
ment will  make  things  quiet,  and  His  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment easy.     To  this  public  reason.  Lord  Bute  adds, 
that  his  health  absolutely  requires  exercise  and  calm- 
ness of  mind.     He  says  that  he  unwillingly  undertook 
the  business  of  a  Minister,  on  the  King's  absolute  pro- 
mise that  he  might  retire  when  the  Peace  should  be 
made.     I  am  of  opinion  that  he  had  a  clear  and  fully 
sufficient  support  in  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  and 
therefore  I  deem  his  resignation  voluntary.     People 
are  infinitely  surprized  at  it ;  for  my  part,  it  is  when 
a  man  accepts  the  Ministry,  not  when  he  quits  it,  that 


46^  ORIGINAL  LETTERS. 

my  wonder  is  excited.  Mr.  Grenville  is  to  be  first 
Lord  of  the  Treasury  and  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer. 
He,  with  the  two  Ministers  of  State,  are  to  be  the 
ministry.  Mr.  Fox  will  continue  Paymaster  and  be  a 
Peer.  Charles  Townshend  will  be  at  the  head  of  the 
Admiralty,  and  Lord  Shelburne  of  the  Board  of  Trade. 
The  Duke  of  Bedford  President ;  Lord  Gower  Privy 
Seal;  Sir  Francis  Dashwood  called  to  the  House  of 
Lords  as  Baron  Dispenser  (in  abeyance  since  Lord 
Westmoreland's  death)  and  is  also  to  be  Master  of  the 
Wardrobe ;  Oswald  will  be  a  Vice-Treasurer  of  Ire- 
land, in  the  room  of  Lord  Sandwich,  who  goes  to 
Spain ;  Hunter,  and  a  Mr.  Harris,  whom  you  do  not 
know,  will  be  Lords  of  the  Treasury ;  and  Lord  Digby 
a  Lord  of  the  Admiralty.  Lord  Northumberland  goes 
Lieutenant  to  Ireland ;  and  Lord  Hereford  Ambassa- 
dor to  France.  It  is  expected  that  all  or  most  of  these 
changes  will  happen  to-morrow ;  but  in  this  Country 
nothing  is  certain. 

***** 
I  am,  dear  sir. 

Most  affectionately  yours, 

BARRINGTON. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  4G3 


LETTER  D. 

Lord  Barrington  to  Mr.  Mitchell ;  upon  the  further 
Changes  of  Jdministration. 

[ibid.  fol.  47.  Orig.] 


Cavendish  Square,  19'^  April,  1763. 
Dear  Sir, 

My  Letter  of  last  week  was  in  general  prophetic, 
but  not  in  every  part.  The  Duke  of  Bedford  has  de- 
clared he  will  not  keep  the  Privy  Seal,  or  have  any 
office.  It  is  said  the  Duke  of  Rutland  will  be  Privy 
Seal,  and  Lord  Gower  Chamberlain. 

Charles  Townshend  accepted  the  Admiralty  last 
Thursday,  and  went  to  kiss  the  King's  hand  the  next 
day  ;  but  he  brought  Peter  Burrell  with  him  to  Court, 
and  insisted  he  likewise  should  be  one  of  the  Board. 
Being  told  that  Lords  Howe  and  Digby  were  to  fill 
up  the  vacant  Seats  at  the  Admiralty,  he  declined  ac- 
cepting the  office  destined  for  him,  and  the  next  day 
received  a  dimission  from  the  King's  service.  Lord 
Sandwich  is  actually  first  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  Lord 
Granby  Master  of  the  Ordnance,  and  General  Towns- 
hend Lieutenant-General  in  his  Lordship's  room.  Lord 


464  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

Ligonier  has  a  pension  and   is  created  an  English 
Baron.     I  aiii,  ray  deal*  friend, 

Ever  most  faithfully  yours, 

BARRINGTON. 


LETTER  DI. 


Lord  Barrington  to  Mr.  Mitchell.     The  Affair  qf^^a 
worthless  man  named  Wilks."" 

[ibid.  fol.  49.  Orig.] 


Cavendish  Square,  13  May,  1763. 
My  DEAR  M. 

*  *  #  *  # 

Nothing  is  at  present  talkM  of  here  but  the  Affair 
of  a  very  impudent  worthless  man  named  Wilks,  a 
Member  of  Parliament,  who  was  lately  taken  up  by 
the  Secretaries  of  State  for  writing  a  most  seditious 
Libel  personally  attacking  the  King.  This  was  done 
by  the  advice  of  the  Attorney  and  Solicitor  General, 
who  were  of  opinion  he  was  not  in  such  a  case  entitled 
to  privilege.  However,  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas 
have  otherwise  determined,  and  he  is  set  at  liberty. 
The  Secretaries  of  State  have  filed  an  information 
against  him  in  the  King's  Bench.  The  mob  are  as 
usual  for  the  Libeller,  who  is  a  kind  of  Sacheverell ; 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


465 


but  I  think  I  never  knew  all  persons  above  the  degree 
of  mob  more  united  than  at  present  in  lamenting  the 
insolence  with  which  Government  is  attacked. 
Most  affectionately  yours, 

HARRINGTON. 

p.  S.  I  am  sorry  and  ashamed  to  say,  that  Lord 
«#**#«  has  on  this  and  all  similar  occasions  united 
himself  to  Mr.  Wilks  and  the  mob. 


LETTER  DII. 


Lord  Barrington  to  Mr.  Mitchell.     The  Death  of 
Lord  Egremont. 

[ibid.  fol.  51.  OHg.\ 


Cavendish  Square,  22'1  Aug.  1763. 
My  dear  Friend, 
Yesterday  Lord  Egremont  was  seized  with  a 
stroke  of  apoplexy  and  died  in  the  Evening.  I  suppose 
nobody  knows  who  is  to  be  Secretary  of  State.  I  have 
not  the  least  guess.  Adieu,  my  dear  Mitchell.  I  am, 
in  great  haste  but  greater  truth. 

Ever  most  affec.  yours, 

BARRINGTON. 
VOL.  IV,    SER.  2.  H  H 


466  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  Dili. 

Lord  Barrington  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell.  Mr.PiWs 
unreasonable  terms.  His  failure  in  negociationfor 
Office. 

[ibid.  fol.  53.   Orig.'i 


Cavendish  Square,  30*  Aug.  1763. 
Dear  Sir, 
Last  Saturday  Mr.  Pitt  attended  the  King  by 
order  at  Buckingham  House,  and  stayed  there  above 
three  hours.  He  return'd  thither  Yesterday,  but  all 
treaty  is  at  an  end,  the  King  deeming  Mr.  Pitt's  de- 
mands unreasonable,  though  he  was  ready  to  have  gone 
a  great  way  to  make  every  thing  easy. 

A  Secretary  of  State  in  the  room  of  Lord  Egremont 

will  soon  be  named,  who  together  with  Lord  Halifax 

and  Mr.  Grenville  will  form  the  Ministry.     When  I 

know  more  you  shall  hear  again  from.  My  dear  friend. 

Yours  most  affectionately, 

barrington. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  467 


LETTER  DIV. 

Mr.  ErsJcine  to  Andrew  Mitchell,  Esq.     Details  ex- 
planatory of  the  preceding  Letter. 

[MITCHELL  PAPER8,  vol.  Ixi.  fol.  237.    Orig,'\ 
*^*  Indorsed  by  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell,  "  Mr.  Erskine,  r.  at  Berlin." 


Sept  QTK  1763. 
Dear  Sir, 

It  is  now  a  considerable  time  since  I  have  had  it  in 
my  power  to  send  you  any  Accounts  that  would  afford 
me  the  least  pleasure  in  writing  or  you  in  reading- 
The  late  important  transaction  has  produced  such  a 
change  on  the  face  of  our  Domestic  Affairs  that  all 
who  sincerely  wish  well  to  their  King  and  Country 
flatter  themselves  with  the  hopes  that  a  Calm  will  suc- 
ceed to  the  Storm  which  hung  over  us,  and  threatened 
every  moment  to  burst  on  our  heads ;  and  that  the  con- 
vulsive rage  of  inflamed  parties  will  subside  into  a  de- 
cent contest  for  Powpr,  and  a  constitutional  opposition. 

Unanimity,  iit  time  of  Peace,  is  not  to  be  expected — 
perhaps,  not  to  be  wished.  You  will  doubtless  have 
received  from  your  other  CoiTespondonts  much  better 
information  of  the  particular  incidents  which  led  to 
and  accompanied  the  grand  Event  than  I  can  possibly 

H  H  2 


468  OUIGINAL    LETTERS. 

give  you :  but,  as  I  am  happily  detached  from  all 
Parties,  though  I  have  a  great  personal  regard  for 
many  Individuals  on  both  sides  the  Question,  you  will 
probably  not  be  displeased  with  comparing  such  par- 
ticulars as  I  have  been  able  to  pick  up,  with  the  more 
authentic  Accounts  you  have  received  from  others. 

The  Convention  between  L.  B.  and  M.  P.  was  long 
carrying  on  with  the  utmost  secrecy  under  the  media- 
tion of  L.  S e,  a  young  nobleman  who  is  said  to  be 

possessed  of  great  abilities,  to  have  studied  the  system 
of  ministeriaJ  craft  with  great  assiduity  under  that  able 
master  M.  F.  and  to  unite  to  no  small  share  of  presump- 
tion the  most  unbounded  ambition.  The  Ministry, 
suspicious  of  some  such  Transaction,  jealous  of  the  in- 
fluence L.  B,  still  retained  over ,  and  alarmed  at 

the  spirit  of  discontent  which  the  Opposition  had  so  art- 
fully and  assiduously  spread  through  the  whole  Nation, 
were  in  the  mean  time  busily  employed  in  forming  a 
private  plan  for  their  own  support,  by  which  they 
hoped  to  regain  the  confidence  of  the  People,  and  give 
weight  and  consistency  to  their  Administration.  Threats 
of  a  general  Resignation  were  the  arms  to  be  employed 

for  carrying  their  plan  into  execution.     L.  E t's 

death  disconcerted  all  their  measures,  and  hastened  the 
conclusion  of  the  treaty  between  L.  B.  and  M.  P.     At 

M.  P.'s  first  interview  with he  behaved  with  great 

modesty  and  decorum ;  but  when  he  insinuated  that 
would  doubtless  be  pleased  that  L.  B.  and  he 


ORIGINAL  LETTEUS.     .  469 

should  unite  their  Councils  for  his  service, stopped 

him  short.  "  How  !  M.  P.  do  you  mean  to  laugh  at 
me  ?  You  must  know,  as  well  as  me,  that  that  noble- 
man is  determined  never  more  to  take  any  share  in  the 
Administration."     M.  P.  was,  however,  on  the  whole, 

so  moderate  in  his  demands,  and so  condescending 

that  there  seemed  little  reason  to  doubt  of  an  happy 

issue  to  the  Conference.    Towards  the  close  of  it, 

said  "  that  as  a  Coalition  was  now  happily  to  take 
place,  he  hoped  it  would  be  general  and  diffusive,  that 
all  past  rancour,  malice,  and  ill-will  would  be  buried 
in  oblivion,  as  nothing  could  give  him  such  real  plea- 
sure as  to  see  his  People  united  and  happy ;  that  he 

especially  wished  to  see  L.  T e  reconciled  to  his 

brother,  whose  good  heart  he  was  thoroughly  con- 
vinced of,  and  whose  affection  for  his  Lordship  all 
their  differences  had  not  been  able  to  stagger."  To 
this  M.  P.  made  no  reply.  The  next  day  L.  T.  and 
M.  P.  were  at  Court;  they  bowed  very  low;  ■■ 
spoke  to  them  without  constraint ;  but,  as  I  thought, 
with  apparent  coolness.  They,  however,  thought  them- 
selves so  sure  of  success  that  they  summoned  their 
friends  to  Town.  .  But,  at  the  next  Conference  (from 
what  motive  J  have  not  been  able  to  learn)  the  scene 
was  entirely  changed,  the  style  of  a  Dictator  was  as- 
sumed ;  terms  were  no  longer  proposed  but  prescribed ; 
and  conditions  exacted  that  nothing  but  the  most  ab- 
ject meanness  or  most  absolute   despondency   could 


470  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

assent  to ;  a  total  Bouleversement  of  the  Government 
was  demanded ;  an  universal  proscription  of  all  who  had 
served  it  boldly  threatened,  with  some  few  invidious 
exceptions;  and  sic  volo,  sicjubeo,  denounced  a  total 
annihilation  of  Regal  Authority.  "  The  whole  frame  of 
your  Government  is  disordered  and  will  require  seven 
Years  at  least  to  restore  it  to  the  state  it  was  in  eighteen 
months  ago;  your  army  is  in  the  utmost  confusion, 
and  must  no  longer  be  governed  by  a  Secretary  at  War 
totally  ignorant  of  all  military  affairs ;  there  must  be  a 
man  of  experience  put  at  the  head  of  it,  a  man  of  cha- 
racter, rank,  and  dignity,  to  give  weight  to  his  com- 
mand.""  "  I  agree  with  you,  M.  P.,  and  by  the  picture 

you  have  drawn  you  doubtless  mean  L.  G — y"  (this 
disconcerted  him  a  little  and  he  replied)  "  Or — or — or 
L.  A- — — e."  "  All  those  who  voted  for  the  Peace  must 
be  turned  out,  and  all  the  Tories  to  a  man  :  the  D.  M. 
indeed  is  young  and  has  not  yet  been  tainted,  and  L. 

H X  may  be  trusted ;  but  the  D.  B.  must  have  no 

share  in  Administration,  I  will  have  nothing  to  do  with 

him  or  with  any  Tory  whatever."" "  Tories,  M.  P.  ? 

I  protest  I  do  not  understand  you ;  if  you  mean  by 
Tories  such,  and  such,  and  such,  you  will  please  to 
recollect  you  brought  every  one  of  them  in  yourself." 

Thus,  unassisted,  did  debate  the  important 

point  of  his  own  Sovereignty  with  that  able  and  (unfor- 
tunately) violent  Negotiator ;  and  having,  during  the 
whole  Conference,  preserved  the  utmost  command  of 


ORIGINAL    LETTEllS.  471 

his  temper,  concluded  it  with  those  remarkable  words, 
"  Should  I  consent  to  these  demands  of  yours,  M.  P., 
there  would  be  nothing  more  left  for  me  to  do,  but  to  take 
the  Crown  from  my  own  Head  and  place  it  upon  yours ; 
and  then  patiently  submit  my  Neck  to  the  Block." 

The  Ministers  were  not  a  little  alarmed  at  M.  P.'s 
admission  into  the  Cabinet  without  their  concurrence, 
and  it  was  whispered  that  they  intended  to  avoid  the 
disgrace  of  being  turned  out  by  an  immediate  Resigna- 
tion. L.  S.  did  resign,  but  assigned  a  plausible  reason 
for  it,  and  declared  his  adherence  to  the  Ministry. 

called  the  Ministers  together,  acquainted  them 

with  what  had  passed  between  him  and  Mr.  P.,  and,  in 
a  spirited  Speech,  let  them  know  that  he  expected  they 
would  labour  assiduously  in  discharge  of  the  duties  of 
their  respective  Departments,  so  that  no  blame  might 
be  thrown  upon  his  Government;  that  he  should 
always  be  willing  to  take  their  advice  in  Council,  and 
hoped,  with  their  assistance,  he  should  he  able  to  go- 
vern in  a  manner  wholly  unexceptionable  and  for  the 
good  of  his  People ;  but  that  he  was  determined,  for 
the  future,  never  to  be  guided  by  the  councils  of  any 
Individual ;  and  that  he  would  suffer  any  extremities, 
and  even  retire  to  Hanover  rather  than  suffer  himself  to 
be  enslaved  by  the  ambition  of  any  of  his  Subjects. 

In  consequence  of  all  this  the  Ministers  gave  out 
that  they  would  apply  diligently  to  their  respective 
business,  and  give  themselves  no  concern  about  the 


472  OllIGINAL    LETTERS. 

future  efforts  of  the  Opposition.  The  exorbitant  de- 
mands of  the  Great  Man  were  generally  condemned, 

the  spirit  of  universally  applauded;    even  the 

City  begins  to  change  their  style,  and  the  three  Lords 
taken  in  have  the  approbation  of  the  Public. 

The  Meeting  of  Parliament  is  as  much  wished  for 
as  it  was  before  dreaded,  through  an  anxiety  lest  any 
disagreement  among  the  Ministers,  or  any  fresh  plans 
of  Opposition,  should  disturb  the  present  tranquillity 
of  the  Nation. 

This  is  now  the  exterior  appearance  of  public  affairs : 
what  still  lurks  behind  the  Curtain,  or  whether  the 
sparks  of  discontented  ambition  will  again  burst  into  a 
flame,  Time  must  discover. 


LETTER  DV. 


Lord  Barrington  to  Mr.  Mitchell.  The  King's  Mes^ 
sage  on  the  subject  of  Wilks.  Mr.  Pitfs  Speech 
upon  the  Address  in  consequence.  The  DuJce  of 
Newcastle. 

[ibid.  vol.  XXXV.  fol.  55.  Orig.'\ 


Cavendish  Square,  17'^.  Nov.  1763. 
Dear  Sir,  _       ■  :       . 

Last  Tuesday  the  Parliament  met,  and  the  House 
of  Commons,  before  the  King's  Speech  was  reported 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  473 

from  the  Chair,  took  into  consideration  a  Message  from 
his  Majesty  on  the  subject  of  Mr.  Wilks,  stating  the 
impediments  thrown  in  the  way  of  his  Trial  by  the 
decision  of  Westminster  Hall  on  the  head  of  privilege. 
After  long  debate  on  various  points  it  was  detennined 
that  the  North  Briton,  No.  45,  was  an  infamous  sedi- 
tious libel,  &c.  It  was  also  resolved  to  proceed  farther 
on  the  Message  next  day,  when  the  point  of  Privilege 
should  be  discussed,  and  inquiry  made  whether  Mr. 
Wilks  was  the  author  of  that  Paper,  with  intention, 
on  proof  thereof,  to  expel  him  ;  but  just  as  the  House 
was  going  to  proceed  Yesterday  on  this  business,  news 
came  that  he  had  been  shot  through  the  body  in  a 
duel,  by  Sam  Martin,  late  Secretary  to  the  Treasury. 
Martin  had  said  in  a  speech  the  day  before  (after  men- 
tioning some  virulent  abuse  thrown  on  him  in  a  former 
North  Briton)  "  that  whoever  was  capable  in  a  printed 
anonymous  Paper  to  asperse  him  by  name,  was  a 
cowardly  scoundrel."  Wilks,  the  next  morning,  wrote 
a  Letter  to  Martin  acknowledging  himself  the  Author 
of  that  Paper,  and  they  proceeded  to  Hyde  Park  where 
the  duel  was  fought.  The  wound  is  not  thought  dan- 
gerous ;  but  it  occasioned  the  putting  off  the  considera- 
tion of  the  Message,  and  we  went  on  the  Speech.  The 
Address  was  moved  by  Lord  Carnarvon  and  seconded 
by  Lord  Frederick  Campbell.  Mr.  Pitt  spoke  with 
great  ability  and  the  utmost  degree  of  temper.  He 
said  he  had  not  altered  his  opinion  of  the  Peace,  which 


474  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

he  still  thought  inadequate  to  our  situation  and  suc- 
cesses ;  but  that  being  made  and  approved  by  Parlia- 
ment, nothing  more  unfortunate  could  happen  than 
that  it  should  be  broken.  That  it  was  every  man's 
business  to  contribute  all  he  could  to  make  it  lasting, 
and  to  improve  it ;  for  which  purpose  he  recommended 
Union  and  Abolition  of  party  Distinctions  as  absolutely 
necessary.  He  spoke  civilly,  and  not  unfavourably  of 
the  Ministers ;  but  of  the  King  he  said  every  thing 
which  duty  and  affection  could  inspire.  The  effect  of 
this  was  a  Vote  for  the  Address,  nemine  contra  dicente. 
I  think  if  ^50,000  had  been  given  for  that  Speech,  it 
would  have  been  well  expended.  It  secures  us  a  quiet 
Session ;  and  with  the  help  of  a  division  of  300  to  111 
the  day  before,  will  give  strength  and  reputation  to 
Government  both  at  home  and  abroad.  I  delayed 
writing  to  you  till  I  could  send  you  somewhat  worth 
your  reading,  which  I  could  not  do  till  Parliament 
met:  I  now  send  you  this  good  news  with  infinite 
satisfaction.     . 

1  must  return  for  a'  moment  to  Wilks,  that  you  may 
know  more  of  Mr.  Pitt's  present  temper,  for  which  I 
cannot  account.  He  speaks  as  ill  of  him  and  his 
-writings  as  any  body ;  he  approved  the  Resolution 
against  his  Paper  No.  45.  except  one  word ;  but  he  is 
very  warm  on  the  affair  of  Privilege,  which  he  insists 
to  have  been  rightly  determined  by  the  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas,  and  violated  by  the  Secretaries  of  State. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  475 

He  abused  the  opinion  given  by  the  Crown  Lawyers, 
and  treated  both  Attorney  and  Solicitor  General  very 
roughly,  though  the  former  has  resigned,  and  was 
supposed  to  be  politically  connected  with  him.  I  know 
not  what  to  make  of  this  in  all  respects  most  extra- 
ordinary Man. 

I  went  to  see  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  the  day  after 
he  came  to  London,  and  he  received  me  very  kindly. 
At  parting  I  said,  I  should  frequently  pay  my  duty  to 
his  Grace  if  I  thought  it  would  be  agreeable  to  him  : 
in  answer  to  which  he  desired  I  would.  He  looks  very 
well  and  hearty.  I  know  nothing  of  his  Politics,  for 
he  did  not  say  a  word  on  those  subjects,  though  I 
stayed  with  him  alone  above  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 
He  was  greatly  concerned  for  Lord  Hardwicke,  who 

is  in  a  declining  and  dangerous  way. 

#  #  #  «  « 

Adieu,  my  dear  Sir,  and  pardon  the  length  of  this 

Letter. 

B. 


LETTER  DVL 

Lord  Barrington  to  Andrew  Mitchell,  Esq.     General 

News. 

[ibid.  fol.  Sy.  Orig.] 


Cavendish  Square,  IS^'i.  Jan.  1764. 
*  #  #  #  # 

I  DO  not  expect  opposition  from  Mr.  Pitt  when  the 
Parliament  meets ;  and  all  other  opposition  is  brutum 


4)76  OllIGINAL    LETTERS. 

Jkilmen.  Wilks  will  be  demolished,  whether  he  comes 
home  or  stays  abroad ;  and  I  think  Government  will 
recover  vigour  and  dignity,  both  which  it  has  greatly 
wanted  in  respect  to  its  foreign  and  domestic  concerns. 
Lord  Hardwicke  has  surprisingly  recovered,  and  I  hope 
will  live.  Our  old  friend  the  D.  of  Newcastle  is  very 
well  at  Claremont.  I  see  him  pretty  often,  but  we  never 
have  talked  about  Politics  since  we  differed  so  entirely 
about  them.  I  pity  him  most  sincerely,  but  know  not 
how  he  can  now  mend  his  situation.  What  a  Situation 
he  has  lost !  He  might  have  been  the  support  of  the 
Crown  and  the  arbiter  between  Government  and  Fac- 
tion. Adieu,  my  dear  Mitchell,  believe  me  ever 
Most  faithfully  and  affectionately  yours, 

BARRINGTON. 

The  reports  of  changes  in  Court  and  quarrels  among 
Ministers  are  groundless.  The  present  time  is  pecu- 
harly  given  to  lying. 


LETTER  DVII. 

Lord  Barrlngton  to  Mr.  Mitchell.     Wilks  and  the 

North  Briton,  No.  45. 

[ibid.  foL  63.  Orig.^ 


Cavendish  Square,  26  Feb.  1764. 
Dear  Sir, 
You  have  probably  heard  of  some  near  Divisions  in 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  477 

the  House  of  Commons  lately,  but  perhaps  you  are 
not  informed  exactly  of  the  points  which  occasioned 
those  divisions.  The  following  Account  will  not  be 
unacceptable  to  you  if  you  have  not  received  a  better. 

Wilks  was  taken  up  by  Lord  Halifax  on  a  general 
warrant  to  seize  the  printer,  publisher,  or  author  of 
the  North  Briton,  No,  45 ;  together  with  their  papers. 
Of  this  he  complained  the  first  day  of  the  Session,  as 
a  violation  of  his  privilege ;  but  the  hearing  of  that 
complaint  was  postponed  to  the  consideration  of  the 
King's  Message  concerning  him.  After  his  Expulsion, 
the  complaint  was  taken  up,  not  in  his  name,  but  as 
regarding  the  Privileges  of  the  House,  by  Sir  William 
Meredith  and  Sir  George  Saville. 

On  inquiry  it  was  found  that  nothing  had  been  done 
by  Lord  Halifax,  or  others  concern'd,  but  what  was 
warranted  by  the  constant  usage  of  office  from  the 
earliest  times,  particularly  when  Lord  Townshend,  the 
Duke  of  Newcastle,  and  Mr.  Pitt  were  Secretaries  of 
State;  and  therefore  the  House  unanimously  agreed 
there  was  no  ground  of  censure  or  blame  on  the  present 
occasion :  but  the  Opposition  proposed  a  motion  de- 
claring such  General  Warrants  to  be  illegal,  as  in  truth 
I  believe  them  to  be.  The  Ministers  would  not  con- 
sent to  this  declaration  of  Law  by  one  House  of  Parlia- 
ment, though  they  did  not  assert  the  legality  of  the 
Warrants.  They  said  Westminster  Hall  were  the  best 
interpreters  of  Law,  or  else  an  Act  ofParliameni ;  and 


478  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

therefore  proposed  to  adjourn  the  consideration  of  the 
matter  for  four  months,  which  was  carried  at  seven  in 
the  morning  by  232  against  218. 

There  were  in  the  course  of  this  proceeding  several 
long  days  and  near  divisions,  many  persons  extremely 
well  disposed  to  Government  and  in  employment  voting 
in  what  they  called  a  constitutional  point,  with  the 
Opposition.  I  think  they  will  most  or  all  of  them 
come  back  to  their  friends ;  and  if  this  point,  greatly 
laboured  by  active  opponents,  does  not  raise  more  flame 
without  doors  than  there  is  an  appearance  of  at  present, 
I  hope  it  will  not  do  Government  any  real  or  lasting 
mischief.  As  to  Change  of  Administration,  I  dare  say 
it  will  produce  none ;  though  I  am  persuaded  your 
namesake  here  has  written  different  accounts  to  his 
Court.* 

Wilks  has  been  convicted  on  the  Indictments  against 
him  for  writing  the  North  Briton,  N'\  4'5,  and  the 
Essay  on  Woman ;  so  I  think  it  impossible  he  can 
ever  come  hither.  He  and  his  Cause  are  already  for- 
gotten by  the  only  friends  he  had,  the  Mob ;  and  we 
shall  not  soon  have  any  similar  writings. 

▼  ▼  ^  ^  ^l^ 

Ever  most  faithfully  yours, 

BARRINGTON. 


Tlie  Prussian  Minister  Afichel. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  479 


LETTER  DVIII. 


Lord  Barrington  to  Mr.  Mitchell.     Michel,  the  Prus- 
sian Minister  in  England,  recalled. 

[ibid.  fol.  65.  Ong.'\ 


Cavendish  Square,  17'*^  May,  1764. 
^  *  *  *  * 

Michel  is  recalled.  This  event  very  unexpected, 
and  I  believe  disagreeable  to  him,  he  did  not  know  till 
last  Tuesday.  I  find  our  Court  has  desired  the  Court 
of  Berlin  to  change  their  Minister  here :  indeed  Michel 
has  stayed  in  England  so  long,  that  he  is  grown  as  in- 
triguing and  as  factious  as  any  man  in  the  Country, 
which  is  saying  a  good  deal. 

Worontzow  was  recalled  by  his  Mistress  without  any 
application  from  hence ;  it  appearing  by  his  own  de- 
spatches, that  he  was  not  fit  to  remain  here.  He  will 
grow  older  and  wiser,  and  it  is  a  pity  he  suffered  him- 
self to  be  seduced  by  Michel. 

*  *  *  *  # 

Mr.  Grenville  has  obtainM  a  great  deal  of  credit, 
and  deservedly,  in  the  House  of  Commons ;  and  that 
credit  helps  him  much  every  where.  Lord  Hahfax's 
Garter  is  well  timed ;  and  my  Lord  Chancellor  is  made 
an  Earl  purely  to  shew  favour  to  such  as  firmly  sup- 


480  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

port  Government.    Adieu,  my  dear  Mitchell.    Believe 
me  ever 

most  affectionately  yours, 

BARRINGTON. 

p.  S.  Mr.  Pitt  has  parted  with  his  house  in  town, 
does  not  in  the  least  talk  like  an  opposer,  and  seems  to 
be  retired  tout  de  bon. 


LETTER  DIX. 

Mr.  Stuart  Mackenzie  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell :  upon 
Ids  removal  from  the  Privy  Seal  of  Scotland. 

[MITCHELL   PAPERS.    Orig.\ 

•,*  The  Right  Hon.  Stuart  Mackenzie  of  Rosehaugh,  the  brother  of 
Lord  Bute,  had  been  Envoy  Extraordinary  at  the  Court  of  Turin  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  Reign  of  King  George  the  Second.  He  was  constituted 
Lord  Privy  Seal  of  Scotland  in  the  room  of  the  Duke  of  Athol,  April  IC"". 
1763.  Dutens  has  given  an  elegant  character  of  Mr.  Mackenzie  in  his 
Memoirs.    Mr.  Mackenzie  died,  at  the  age  of  82,  April  6"*.  1800. 


Hills  Street,  4^^  June,  1765. 
The  King  having  many  reasons  to  be  displeased 
with  some  of  his  Ministers,  resolved  to  make  certain 
Changes.  He  accordingly  directed  the  Duke  of  Cum- 
berland f'  (who  was  the  only  person  in  this  Kingdom 
from  his  rank  and  peculiar  circumstances  who  could 
talk  to  the  several  heads  of  the  subdivisions  of  the 

W  iUiam  Augustus'Duke  of  Cumberland,  third  son  of  George  II.,  died  Nov.  S'l".  1705. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  481 

Opposition)  to*sound  several  persons  in  order  to  the 
formation  of  a  different  Government  from  that  which 
he  had  about  him.  His  Royal  Highness  obeyed  his 
Majesty's  orders  in  the  best  manner  possible.  He  met 
with  Pitt  and  Temple,  who  after  much  conversation 
he  found  would  not  come  into  office.  He  then  turned 
to  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  and  his  friends,  who  either 
through  timidity  of  Pitt  not  coming  in,  or  from  other 
motives,  declined  acceptance.  So  that  after  many  en- 
deavours, and  turning  things  into  every  shape  possible, 
the  Duke  advised  his  Majesty,  as  his  only  resource 
left,  to  send  for  the  present  people  again,  and  to  take 
them  in.  This  advice  was  seconded  by  two  men  no 
less  attached  to  the  King,  nor  no  less  bold  in  Council 
than  the  Duke  himself;  I  mean  the  Lord  Chancellor 
and  Lord  Egmont.  His  Majesty  offended  in  the 
highest  degree  with  the  Insolence  offered  him  by  his 
present  Ministers  would  have  put  any  mortal  in  their 
place  that  could  have  carried  on  business,  if  the  three 
Great  Persons  abovementioned  could  have  suggested 
to  him  any  plan  for  that  purpose.  And  they  un- 
doubtedly would  have  done  it  if  they  could,  as  there 
is  no  animal  on  the  face  of  the  earth  that  the  Duke  has 
a  more  thorough  contempt  for  or  a  greater  aversion  to 
than  Grenville.  However,  as  no  other  remedy  could 
be  found,  his  Majesty  sent  for  those  people  again. 
They  on  their  part  demanded  certain  terms  without 
which  they  declined  coming  in ;  the  principal  of  which 

VOL.  IV.    SER.  2.  I  I 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS. 

was,  that  I  should  be  dismissed  from  the  Administra- 
tion of  the  Affairs  in  Scotland,  and  (on  a  further  ex- 
planation) likewise  from  the  office  of  Privy  Seal.  His 
Majesty  answered,  that  as  to  the  first,  it  would  be  no 
great  punishment,  he  believed,  to  me,  as  I  had  never 
been  very  fond  of  the  Employment ;  but  that  as  to  the 
second,  I  had  his  promise  to  continue  in  it  for  life. 
Grenville  replied  to  this  pui'pose:  "  In  that  case,  Sir, 
"  we  must  decline  coming  in.""  "  No,''  says  the  King, 
"  I  won't  on  that  account  put  the  whole  Kingdom  in 
*,'  confusion,  and  leave  it  without  any  Government  at 
f*  all;  but  I'll  tell  you  how  that  matter  stands;  that  he 
'*  has  my  royal  word  to  continue  in  the  office :  and  if 
"  you  force  me,  from  the  situation  of  things,  to  violate 
^'  my  royal  word,  remember  you  are  responsible  for  it 
"  and  not  I."  Upon  that  very  solemn  charge,  Gren- 
ville answered,  "  Sir,  we  must  make  some  arrangement 
"  for  Mr.  M."  The  King  replied,  "  If  I  know  any 
"  thi;ig  of  him,  he  will  give  himself  very  little  trouble 
"  about  your  arrangements  for  him."  His  Majesty 
afterwards  sent  for  me  to  his  Closet,  where  I  was  a 
very  considerable  time  with  him,  and  if  it  were  possible 
for  me  to  love  my  excellent  Prince  now  better  than  I 
ever  did  before,  I  should  certainly  do  it;  for  I  have 
every  reason  that  can  induce  a  generous  or  a  grateful 
mind  to  feel  his  goodness  to  me;  but  such  was  his 
M^esty's  situation  at  that  time,  that  had  he  absolutely 
rejected  my. Dismission,  he  would  have  put  me  in. the 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  483 

most  disagreeable  situation  in  the  world :  and  what 
was  of  much  higher  consequence,  he  would  have 
greatly  distressed  his  affairs.  I  can  add  no  more  at 
present,  but  must  beg  of  you  to  communicate  what  I 
have  said  on  this  subject  to  Lord  Milton,  Lord  Stone- 
field,  and  my  other  friends. 


LETTER  DX. 


The  Rev.  William  Cole  to  Mr.  Allan  Butler,  President 
of  the  English  College  at  St.  Omers.  The  State  of 
Society  in  France.     Raiisseav  in  England. 

[ms.  cole,  vol.  XXV.  fol.  17  b.] 

*^  This-Lctter,  and  the  Answer  it  received,  are  here  inserted  to  show 
at  how  early  a  day  the  springing  of  the  Seed  was  noticed  which  afterwards 
produced  the  French  Revolution.  The  effects  of  the  New  Philosophy, 
and  fear  of  the  ruin  it  portended,  determined  Mr.  Cole,  as  far  back  as  1 766, 
to  retract  the  intention  he  had  formed  of  settling  in  France.  * 


»  In  the  same  Volume  with  this  Letter  Mr.  Cole  has  recorded  the  following  Anec- 
dote of  the  person  to  whom  it  was  written. 

"  There  happened  an  odd  affair  relating  to  the  author  of  this  Book,  the  rev.  Mr. 
Alban  Butler,  a  secular  priest  of  Douay,  and  chaplain  to  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Nor- 
folk. I  was  told  it  at  the  time  when  it  happened,  by  his  and  my  friend  the  rev. 
Charles  Bcdingfeild,  RccoUet  and  Friar  of  the  FranciM»n  Convent  of  Douay,  of  the 
Suffolk  family  of  that  name. 

"  This  gentleman  Mr.  Alban  Butler,  going  upon  a  mission  to  Norwich,  had  di- 
rected his  Portmanteau  by  the  carrier  to  be  left  at  the  Palace  for  him  in  that  City :  it. 
seems  the  Duke  of  Norfolk's  house  there  is  called  the  Palace.  As  he  was  utterly  un- 
known at  Norwich,  and  as  there  was  a  Doctor  Butler  at  that  time  as  a  visitor  witli 
bishop  Hayter,  the  portmanteau  was  carried,  by  mistake,  to  the  Bishop's  Palace,  and 
was  opened  by  Dr.  Butler ;  who  finding  therein  a  hair-shirt,  disciplines,  indulgences, 
missals,  &c.  the  mistake  was  soon  found  out,  and  as  soon  communicated  to  the 
Bishop,  who  began  to  make  a  stir  about  it:  but  by  tlic  mediation  of  the  Duke  of 
Norfolk  the  Affair  was  hushed  up,  and  Mr.  Butler  had  his  portmanteau  restored  to 
him." 

I  I  2 


484  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

Blecheley,  near  Fenny  Stratford, 
Bucks,  Jan.  26, 1766. 
Dear  Sir, 

I  AM  afraid  you  begin  to  think  that  you  entertained 
a  very  unthankful  guest,  and  that  your  hospitality  was 
thrown  away  upon  a  person  who  makes  so  ill  a  return 
for  it :  but  I  hope  to  justify  myself  fully  to  your  can- 
dour, when  you  have  heard  my  reasons  for  not  acknow- 
ledging your  great  civility  to  me  at  St.  Omers,  both  in 
lodging  me  so  comfortably,  and  entertaining  me  so 
hospitably  under  your  roof. 

#  #  *  *  # 

I  told  you,  when  at  your  house,  that  one  chief  reason 
of  my  Journey  into  France  was,  to  look  out,  on  that  side 
of  the  water,  for  a  quiet,  pleasant,  and  comfortable  re- 
treat, where  I  might,  with  my  own  private  fortune,  be 
enabled  to  live  pretty  near  as  fully  and  plentifully, 
when  I  quitted  my  preferment  which  is  near  equal  to 
my  estate,  as  with  it  in  England ;  where  we  are  so  bur- 
thened  with  taxes  of  every  sort,  and  every  thing  at  so 
excessive  a  price,  that  the  greatest  economy  will  hardly 
allow  a  man  of  a  private  fortune  to  live  within  compass, 
if  he  will  do  as  his  neighbours.  This  I  conceived  might 
have  been  practicable  in  France,  where  taxes  are  not  so 
numerous,  and  where  provisions  are  much  cheaper. 

However,  before  I  left  Paris,  I  began  to  be  sick  of 
my  design,  for  two  or  three  reasons:  I  found  every 
thing  almost,  both  there  and  on  the  road  through 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  485 

Amiens  to  Calais,  near  as  dear  as  in  England  ;  I  found 
it  would  not  be  easy  to  find  any  society  with  the  na- 
tives, who  do  not  love  us,  and  indeed  have  no  reason 
to  do  so ;  but  the  thing  which  disgusted  me  most,  was 
the  looseness  of  their  principles  in  point  of  Religion. 

I  travelled  to  Paris  through  Lille  and  Cambray  in 
their  public  voitures,  and  was  gi'eatly  scandalized  and 
amazed  at  the  open  and  unreserved  disrespect  both  of 
the  trading  and  military  people  for  their  Clergy  and 
religious  establishment. 

When  I  got  to  Paris  it  was  much  worse.  I  had  an 
opportunity  by  a  friend's  being  at  Paris,  with  whom  I 
spent  most  of  my  afternoons,  and  where  was  a  great 
resort  of  French  company  of  the  best  sort,  as  he  was  a 
man  of  fashion  and  literature,  to  be  further  convinced 
of  the  great  prevalency  of  Deism  in  that  Kingdom ; 
when,  if  they  go  on  at  the  rate  they  have  done  for 
these  last  few  years,  it  is  much  to  be  feared,  that  any 
mode  of  Christianity,  much  more  the  best,  will  fare 
but  ill  with  so  loose  a  people.  I  was  shocked  at  this 
barefaced  infidelity,  as  well  as  my  friend ;  who  is  so 
far  from  being  a  bigot  to  any  form  of  Christianity,  that 
we  rather  looked  upon  him  in  England  as  indifferent 
to  all :  3  so  that  it  was  with  the  greatest  pleasure  I  often 

•  This  friend  was  the  Hon.  Horace  Walpole,  afterwards  Earl  of  Orford,  with  whom 
Mr.  Cole  was  upon  terms  of  the  closest  friendship.  There  was  a  still  earlier  period 
in  Lord  Orford's  life,  when  he  was  even  enthusiastic  in  the  cause  of  Rkligion. 
Cole,  ill  his  manuscript  Preparations  for  an  "  Athena:  Cantabrigienses"  in  an  Ac- 
count of  Henry  Coventry,  Esq.  Fellow  of  Magdalen  College  Cambridge,  says,  Mr. 
Coventry  was  "  a  man  of  gooil  estate,  part  of  it  in  the  Isle  of  Ely.  1  used  to  be  much 
"  with  him  at  Dr.  Middleton's  and  Mr.  Horace  Walpolc's.    When  he  first  came  to 


486  OllIGINAL    LETTERS. 

heard  him  engaged  very  warmly  in  defence  of  our  com- 
mon Christianity,  against  these  philosophers,  as  the 
French  Deists  affect  to  call  themselves ;  and,  upon  this 
principle,  that  it  was  time  enough  to  think  of  pulling 
down  the  present  established  Form  of  Worship,  when 
they  could  agree  among  themselves  to  establish  a  better. 

The  French  nobility,  ladies  as  well  as  men,  military 
gentry,  and  even  tradesmen,  are  infected  with  this  new 
Philosophy.  God  alone  knows  where  it  will  end :  but 
I  fear  the  worst. 

I  ever  thought  we  were  bad  in  England;  but  I 
never  heard  so  much  public  infidelity  any  where  as 
while  I  was  in  France ;  where,  however,  to  its  honour 
be  it  spoken,  they  have  spewed  out  Rousseau ;  while 
England,  according  to  custom,  has  licked  up  the  vomit. 
1  hope  you  will  pardon  the  indelicacy  of  the  expres- 
sion :  but  resentment  to  see  the  folly,  blindness,  and 
ill-judgment  of  my  Countrymen,  who  are  now  a  madding 
in  caressing  a  man  whom  all  good  Government, 
Christian  or  Heathen,  ought  to  detest,  forced  me  to 
make  use  of  it. 

All  our  News-papers  for  this  last  fortnight  have  had 
regularly  two  or  three  articles  relating  to  this  great  Mr. 
Rousseau  and  his  settling  in  England.  If  the  Emperor 
had  paid  us  a  visit,  more  noise  could  not  have  been 

"  the  University  he  was  of  a  religious  enthusiastic  turn  of  mind ;  as  was  Mr.  H.  W. 
"  also,  even  so  much  as  to  go  with  Ashton,  his  then  great  friend  and  now  Fellow  of 
••  Eton,  TO  PRAY  WITH  THE  PRISONERS  in  the  CASTLE ;  afterwards  both  Mr.  Co- 
"  ventry  and  Mr.  Walpole  took  to  the  infidel  side  of  the  Question.  Mr.  Coventry 
"  was  author  of '  Philemon  to  Hydaspes." " 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  487 

made  about  it :  and  we  seem  to  think  we  have  made  a 
great  acquisition  in  a  man,  who  was  it  not  already  in 
part  done  to  his  hands,  has  it  in  his  heart  to  unloose 
all  ties  both  civil  and  ecclesiastic. 

But  I  will  have  done  with  this  argument,  and  will 
only  add,  that  it  gave  me  the  most  hearty  concern  to 
think  what  was  likely  to  becoine  of  the  flourishing  Gal- 
ilean Church,  if  a  "stop,  a  providential  stop,  be  hot  put 

to  this  present  Phrenzy.      '      ■   •    '»    ''      ^'       '  '  ' 

'       .    ■     ♦  «  .-#■..•      #•■"       f    •#*:   .•    r  ■» 

I  must  own  I  still  long  after  a  retreat  somewhere 
about  you,  or  in  Normandy,  if  a  proper  place  could  be 
found.  I  lament  I  had  so  short  a  time  with  you,  as  I 
am  fearful  I  shall  have  no  opportunity  of  talking  this 
and  other  matters  over  with  you  in  England  :  however, 
if  you  should  have  a  cdl  here,  I  should  be  infinitely 
happy  to  see  you  at  this  place,  which  I  might  the 
sooner  hope  for,  as  you  told  me  the  neighbouring 
County  of  Northampton  was  your  native  one.  I  shall 
be  glad  of  every  opportunity  to  approve  myself,  re- 
verend Sir, 

Your  much  obliged 

and  faithful  servant, 

WILLIAM  COLE. 


*  Here  follow  some  Notes  iu  correction  of>  aud  addition  to  Mr.  Albnn  Butler'* 
Lives  of  tlie  Saints. 


488  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

LETTER  DXI. 

Mr,  Alban  Butler  to  the  Rev.  William  Cde^from  Si. 
Omers,  in  answer. 

[ibid.  fol.  25  b.] 


Honoured  and  Reverend  Sir, 

Words  cannot  express  how  much  I  think  myself 
indebted  to  you  for  your  most  obliging  and  valuable 
Letter,  dated  Jan.  26"^^.  particularly  for  your  most 
learned  Remarks  on  Bishop  Fisher,  and  just  correc- 
tions of  Errata  in  the  Biography,  most  indeed  of 
the  Press.  My  Batavia  Sacra  is  dated  in  1754 :  per- 
haps only  the  Title  Page  is  new. 

***** 

The  frightful  Portraiture  of  the  monstrous  growth 
of  Libertinism  and  Irreligion  alarms  and  disturbs  me 
beyond  expression  :  a  good  deal  indeed  I  knew  to  be 
true.  Such  scandals  put  virtue  to  the  test ;  yet  they  only 
overthrow  the  weak.  Those  who  are  better  grounded, 
are  awaked  into  greater  watchfulness,  fear,  and  fervor 
at  the  sight,  as  we  daily  see.  Nay,  these  New  Philo- 
sophers, as  they  call  themselves,  carry  publicly  the 
antidote  against  the  infection  of  their  own  Poison; 
first,  by  the  glaring  absurdity  and  inconsistency  of 
their  rash  errors ;  and  secondly,  by  the  licentiousness 
of  their  morals,  their  shocking  pride,  and  ridiculous 
boasting  and  assurance. 


ORIGINAL  LETTERS.  489 

Those  who  cultivate  virtue  are  upright  and  un- 
biassed; the  light  of  reason  in  them  is  pure,  their  judg- 
ment sound,  their  principles  clear,  rational,  consistent 
in  every  part,  supported  by  the  strongest  evidence. 
One  such  ought  to  have  more  weight  than  a  thousand 
whose  hearts  are  led  astray,  and  whose  passions  put 
out  their  eyes  by  the  mist  they  raise. 

I  cannot  wonder  that  Dean  Swift  should  say.  The 
opinion  of  Sir  Thomas  More  alone  would  have  more 
sway  with  him,  in  many  cases,  than  that  of  a  whole 
assembly  of  interested  time-servers.  Such  men  God 
always  raises  up  by  his  Grace ;  men  hidden  in  God  to 
the  world,  united  to  him  by  perfect  purity  of  heart, 
and  eminently  endowed  with  a  true  spirit  of  humihty, 
meekness,  charity,  and  all  other  virtues ;  true  terres- 
trial Angels.  What  a  comfort  is  it  to  meet  and  con- 
verse with  any  such  servants  of  God  !  The  inundations 
of  vice  make  Infidelity  rife :  but  the  Christian  Revela- 
tion is  in  itself  no  less  true,  no  less  heroic,  no  less 
essential.  We  must  strive  with  the  greater  earnestness 
to  secure  our  lot  with  the  small  number,  as  the  torrent 
of  the  wicked  threatens  to  bear  us  down  with  the 
greater  violence. 

The  necessaries  and  conveniences  of  life  are  grown 
much  dearer  in  France  than  formerly ;  but  not  in  the 
same  proportion  as  in  England ;  where,  I  much  fear, 
in  a  few  years,  one  half  of  the  people  will  become 
beggars,  and  be  maintained  by  the  other  half. 


490  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

I  have  every  where  found  amongst  the  French  a 
sufficient  number  of  friends,  both  obliging  and  very 
cordial  and  agreeable.  Should  you  ever  be  inclined  to 
try  these  Parts  (and  the  neighbourhood  of  England  I 
ha:ve  always  found  to  have  many  agreeable  circum- 
stances) it  would  make  me  completely  happy,  if  in  my 
power  to  contribute  in  any  thing  to  make  your  situation 
agreeable.  The  most  advantageous  way  of  employing 
money  here  is  now  in  the  Life  Rents  upon  the  King, 
which  yield  Ten  per  Cent :  or  on  the  Clergy  for  ever, 
Five  per  Cent. 

I  am  sorry  you  should  think  our  poor  entertainment 
to  have  deserved  to  be  remembered.  I  shall  always 
think  myself  much  obliged  to  your  goodness  in  accept- 
ing our  humble  lodging ;  and  shall  more  so,  if  you  ever 
find  it  convenient  to  favour  us  with  your  company  a 
longer  time,  and  as  frequently  as  it  shall  suit  your  con- 
venience. In  every  thing  in  my  poor  power  I  shall  be 
very  happy  to  obey  your  orders,  execute  any  commis- 
sions, or  give  any  proof  of  the  most  sincere  respect  and 
esteem  with  which  I  am, 
Hon^.  revd.  Sir, 

Your  most  obliged  and  devoted 
S^  humble  servant, 

A.  BUTLER. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  491 


LETTER  DXII. 

Lord  Barring-ton  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell.  A  fresh 
Change  in  Administration.  Mr.  Stuart  Mackenzie 
has  the  Privy  Seal  again. 

[MITCHELL  PAPERS,  VOl.  XXXV.  foL  71'] 


Cavendish  Square,  July  the  31st.  1766. 

I  HAVE  sent  you  no  account,  my  dear  friend,  of 
what  has  been  doing  here  for  above  a  fortnight,  because 
nothing  was  determined  till  yesterday,  when  a  number 
of  persons  kissed  the  King's  hand  for  various  appoint- 
ments. I  send  you  an  accurate  List  of  them  inclosed, 
and  you  shall  hear  from  me  any  further  changes  which 
may  take  place.  Mr.  Steuart  Mackenzie  is  to  have 
his  Privy  Seal  again.  The  Paymaster's  Office  is  to 
be  divided  into  two  employments,  but  I  know  not  for 
whom.  I  do  not  hear  who  is  destined  to  succeed  Lord 
Dartmouth.  I  earnestly  wish  the  Board  of  Trade 
may  be  restored  to  Lord  Hillsborough,  who  will  cer- 
tainly execute  it  better  than  any  other  man  living,  and 
who  wants  employment  to  divert  melancholy  thoughts 
which  too  often  recur. 

#  «  *  *  « 

I  must  now  give  you  a  short  history  of  the  Change 
which  has  just  happened.  Sunday  the  6^''  of  this 
month  the  King  told  Lord  Rockingham  that  the  Chan- 


492  -         ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

cellor  had  just  been  giving  his  opinion  (and  reasons 
upon  which  it  was  founded)  why  the  Administration 
should  no  longer  be  left  in  its  weak  state.  His  Majesty 
repeated  what  had  past  in  this  conversation,  adding 
his  own  arguments  on  the  subject,  and  concluded  with 
saying,  that  it  was  his  duty  to  strengthen  his  Govern- 
ment. He  accordingly  sent  for  Mr.  Pitt,  by  whose 
advice,  as  is  supposed,  the  King  also  sent  for  Lord 
Temple,  and  offered  him  the  Treasury,  but  his  Lord- 
ship after  some  conversation  with  Mr.  Pitt  (said  to 
have  been  very  warm)  went  back  to  Stow.  I  believe 
Lord  Rockingham  has  been  offered  any  Court  office, 
but  he  will  have  none.  Lord  Winchilsea  told  the  King 
he  had  taken  nothing  from  him,  but  what  on  account 
of  health  he  must  soon  have  given  up.  It  is  said  Mr, 
Yorke  will  resign  his  employment  of  Attorney  General; 
but  excepting  that,  I  hear  of  no  intended  resignations, 

or  indeed  material  alterations. 

***** 


LETTER  DXIII. 

General  Conway  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell.  His  Ma- 
jesty's Proposition  to  form  a  System  in  the  North 
which  may  counterbalance  the  Family  Compact. 

[MITCHELL  PAPERS,  UT  SUPR.    Ortg.^ 

*^*  For  an  Account  of  the  Alliance  between  the  branches  of  the 
House  of  Bourbon,  known  by  the  name  of  the  Family  Compact,  tlie 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  493 

reader  may  consult  t'lc  Annual  Register,  voL  iv.  p.  51.  v.  p.  3.  It  was 
considered  at  its  time,  as  an  event  of  the  most  extensive,  lasting,  and 
alarming  influence. 


St.  JamesX  August  8th.  1766. 
Sir, 
I  HAVE  it  in  command  from  his  Majesty  to  inform 
you,  that  his  Majesty  being  convinced  that  nothing 
can  tend  so  effectually  to  secure  the  continuation  of  the 
present  General  Tranquillity,  as  the  forming  such  a 
firm  and  solid  System  in  the  North,  as  may  prove  a 
counterbalance  to  the  great  and  formidable  Alliance 
framed  by  the  House  of  Bourbon  on  the  basis  of  her 
Family  Compact;    and  considering   a  Connexion  of 
Great  Britain  with  the  two  great  Crowns  of  Russia 
and  Prussia,  as  the  natural  foundation  of  such  a  system, 
has  been  pleased  to  appoint  Mr.  Stanley  his  Ambassa- 
dor Extraordinary  to  the  Court  of  Petersburgh,  who 
will  be  instructed  to  act  in  conjunction  with  you,  and 
in  order  to  that,  will  have  his  Majesty^s  commands  to 
pass  through  Berlin  ;  there  to  confer  fully  and  freely 
with  you,  on  the  most  effectual  means  of  bringing  this 
great  and  salutary  Plan  to  the  desired  conclusion  :  and 
that  he  may  be  enabled  to  do  it  more  effectually,  will 
have  Credentials  to  his  Prussian  Majesty ;  so  as,  in 
concurrence  with  You,  to  settle  the  proper  measures 
to  be  pursued  in  the  progress  of  this  affair :  in  which 
the  intimate  knowledge  you  possess  of  the  State  of  that 
Court  where  you  reside,  and  of  the  dispositions  and 


494  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

views  of  his  Prussian  Majesty,  will  be  of  the  most  es- 
sential service.  But  as  You  are  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  the  coldness  that  has  lately  reigned  between  the 
Courts  of  London  and  Berlin,  and  have  been  witness 
to  the  extreme  backwardness  his  Prussian  Majesty  has 
shewn  towards  any  ideas  of  a  more  intimate  connexion 
with  this  Court,  you  will  not  wonder  that  his  Majesty, 
previous  to  the  sending  Mr.  Stanley  over,  and  to  be- 
ginning any  actual  Negotiation,  is  desirous  to  know, 
whether  this  most  friendly  step  taken  by  his  Majesty 
is  viewed  with  pleasure  by  the  King  of  Prussia. 

After  opening  therefore  in  the  most  confidential 
manner  the  Plan  proposed  by  his  Majesty,  and  thereby 
giving  his  Prussian  Majesty  the  strongest  proof  of  his 
Majesty ""s  inclination  to  act  on  terms  of  the  most  cordial 
union,  you  will,  as  soon  as  may  be,  for  his  Majesty's 
information,  report  to  me  in  what  manner  these  over- 
tures have  been  received ;  and  will  accompany  the 
same  with  such  intelligence  or  observations,  as  appear 
to  you  material  for  throwing  the  fullest  lights  on  this 
interesting  and  important  business,  and  as  may  be  a 
direction  for  the  further  prosecuting  it  with  effect. 

To  you.  Sir,  who  are  so  entirely  master  of  all  that 
relates  to  this  subject,  it  will  be  little  necessary  to  add 
any  more.  You  are,  in  general  at  least,  informed  of 
the  Obstructions  which  the  Treaty  of  Alliance  with 
Russia,  so  long  since  proposed,  has  met  with ;  and  if 
by  means  of  this  mode  of  Negotiation,  and  in  this  new 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  495 

form,  that  object  can  be  attained,  You,  Sir,  who  will 
be  a  chief  instrument  in  promoting  it,  will  deserve 
and  undoubtedly  obtain  the  highest  approbation  and 
applause. 

I  am.  Sir, 

with  great  truth  and  esteem, 
V       your  most  humble  and  obedient  servant, 

<>i      ,    i.wv.    /.;... X  H.S.CONWAY. 


LETTER  DXIV. 

The  Earl  qfChatJiam  to  Sir  Andreto  Mitchell;  on  the 

proposed  Coiifederacy  of  the  North. 

.    .  .,  ,  —  .. 

[ibid.  vol.  xxii.  foL  39.  Orig.\ 


(Secret.) 

London,  Aug.  6'^.  1766. 

Dear  Sir,  —  .  .  ..  , 
Mr.  Conway's  office  Letter  will  have  informed  you 
of  the  advice  the  King''s  servants  have  most  humbly 
submitted  to  his  Majesty.  These  few  lines  (writ  by 
the  King's  order,  and  which  his  Majesty  sees)  will 
apprize  you  more  effectually  than  volumes,  of  his  Ma- 
jesty's royal  purpose  to  estabUsh  a  firm  and  solid 
System  for  the  maintenance  of  the  publick  Tranquillity. 
In  this  great  view  the  King  has  been  graciously  pleased, 
by  my  most  humble  advice,  to  appoint  Mr.  Stanley, 
yoyr  friend  and  mine  (whose  abilities  for  this  most 


496  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

important  work  point  him  out  with  distinction,)  his 
Ambassador  to  the  Court  of  Russia. 

The  object  of  his  mission  is  so  clearly  and  with  such 
precision  (as  to  the  outline)  marked  in  the  Minute  of  the 
Cabinet  transmitted  to  you  by  Mr.  Conway,  that  I  do 
not  trouble  you  with  the  repetition  of  it.  I  will  only 
observe,  my  dear  Sir,  to  a  discernment  like  yours,  that 
the  intended  journey  of  the  King's  Ambassador  to 
Russia  hy  way  of  Berlin  with  a  Credential  to  the 
King  of  Prussia,  in  order  to  open,  in  concert  and  con- 
junction with  You,  the  whole  Plan  to  his  Prussian 
Majesty,  before  any  opening  of  it  he  made  to  the  Court 
of  Peter  shurgh,  is  a  step  of  such  decision  and  confidence 
on  the  part  of  his  Majesty,  as  can  not  fail  to  make  deep 
impressions  on  the  mind  of  that  clear  sighted  Monarch 
the  King  of  Prussia,  if  he  be  in  the  least  inclined  to- 
wards this  great  work.  The  King,  on  his  part,  as- 
suredly wishes  it,  but  his  Majesty  wishes  it,  like  a 
Great  King  of  Great  Britain,  salva  Mqjestate.  If  his 
Prussian  Majesty  meets,  on  his  part,  the  King's  fa- 
vourable dispositions,  I  see  before  us  a  happy  prospect 
of  durable  tranquillity;  and  this  momentous  affair,  like 
most  great  things,  would  immediately  proceed  with 
little  formality  and  abundance  of  substance  and  real 
mutual  confidetice. 

More  words  upon  this  important  matter  are  totally 
useless:  I  will  only  add  that  you  are  to  make  such 
use  of  this  Letter  with  his  Prussian  Majesty,  as  you 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  497 

shall  judge  most  conducive  to  the  great  object  of  it. 
Your  own  perfect  knowledge  of  that  Court,  your  Zeal, 
Ability,  and  Address,  are  the  best  instructions.  My 
heart  is  in  this  arduous  business,  so  highly  for  the 
King's  dignity  and  repose;  and  yours,  I  know,  will 
go  with  ardour  along  with  it.  The  conjunction  of 
the  King's  Ambassador  as  he  passes,  I  am  persuaded, 
will  cause  no  uneasy  sensation  in  a  mind  composed 
like  Yours. 

I  am  ever,  with  unalterable  esteem  and  warm  affec- 
tion. 

My  dear  Sir, 

Your  most  faithful  friend  and  obedient 
humble  servant, 

CHATHAM. 


"  Resolved,  That  his  Majesty  be  advised  to  take  the  proper  mea- 
sures  for  forming  a  Triple  defensive  Alliance  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
public  Tranquillity,  in  which  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain,  the  Empress 
of  Russia,  and  the  King  of  Prussia,  to  be  the  original  contracting  Parties, 
with  provision  for  inviting  to  accede  thereto,  the  Crowns  of  Denmark, 
and  Sweden,  and  the  States  General,  together  with  such  of  the  German, 
or  other  Powers,  as  the  Original  Contracting  Parties  shall  agree  upon, 
and  as  are  not  engaged  in  the  Family  Compact  of  the  House  of  Bourbon. 

"  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  his  Majesty's  Servants,  that  Air. 
Secretary  Conway  do  take  his  Alajesty's  pleasure  on  a  Letter  to  be  im- 
mediately writ  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell,  to  acquaint  hun  with  the  above 
Plan,  and  to  inform  him  at  the  same  time,  it  is  the  King's  intention,  that 
Mr.  Stanley,  appointed  his  Majesty's  Ambassador  to  the  Court  of  Russia, 
shall  go  by  way  of  Berlin,  with  a  proper  Credential  to  his  Prussian  Ma- 
jesty ;  then,  in  concert  and  conjunction  with  Sir  A.  Mitchell,  more  fully 
to  open  this  measure ;  and  will  set  out  for  that  purpose,  as  soon  as  Sir  A. 
Blitchell  shall  have  transmitted  hither  an  Account,  that  his  Prussian 
Majesty  will  view  with  pleasure  this  very  confidential  step  on  the  part 
of  His  Majesty." 

VOL.  IV.    SER.  2.  K  K 


498  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  DXV. 

Sir  Andrew  Mitchell  to  the  Earl  of  Chatham.  He 
details  the  substance  of  a  Conference  with  the  King 
of  Prussia. 

[ibid.  vol.  vii.  foL  GO  b.  sir  a.  Mitchell's  own  copy.] 


(Private.)  Berlin,  17'''.  September,  1766. 

My  Lord, 

My  Letter  to  Mr.  Conway  of  this  date  will  inform 
your  Lordship  of  what  passed  in  the  Conference  I  had 
with  the  King  of  Prussia  at  Potzdam,  and  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  I  have  executed  the  important  commis- 
sion with  which  I  was  charged. 

As  I  found  the  King  of  Prussia  averse  to  enter  inta 
new  and  stricter  connexions  with  England,  as  well  on 
account  of  the  usage  he  met  with  towards  the  end  of 
the  late  war,  as  of  the  unsettled  and  fluctuating  state 
our  Government  has  been  in  since  the  conclusion  of 
the  Peace,  I  made  a  proper  use  of  your  Lordship's 
Secret  Letter  of  the  8*.  of  August,  and  urged  his 
Prussian  Majesty  upon  this  point,  that  now  by  your 
Lordship'^s  taking  a  share  in  Government  the  cause  of 
his  distrust  was  taken  away,  and  therefore  his  diffidence 
ought  to  cease.  He  answered,  I  fear  my  friend  has 
hurt  himself  by  accepting  of  a  Peerage  at  this  time. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  499 

I  replied  that  though  I  did  not  know  your  motives, 
I  was  persuaded  you  could  give  a  good  reason  for  what 
you  had  done;  that  I  was  not  at  all  alarmed  by  the 
clamour  and  abuse  thrown  out  against  you  on  that  ac- 
count, as  it  was  the  effect  of  the  arts  and  malice  of 
your  enemies,  on  purpose  to  discredit  you  with  the 
People,  who  were  easily  misled  by  first  impression  and 
misrepresentations,  but  were  as  easily  brought  back 
again  to  their  senses  by  right  actions  and  a  steady 
conduct ;  that  I  was  persuaded  this  would  be  thecase 
with  your  Lordship;  and  to  confirm  what  I  said  I 
mentioned  to  him  what  I  had  been  a  witness  to,  when 
by  your  Speech  in  Parliament  you  saved  the  American 
Colonies,  and  was  abused  most  scurrilously  as  a  traitor 
to  your  Country  for  so  doing;  that  in  a  very  short 
space  of  time,  the  People  saw  they  had  been  deceived, 
acknowledged  their  error  and  expressed  their  esteem, 
gratitude,  and  attachment  to  you  in  a  stronger  manner 
than  ever  they  had  done  before;  that  this  I  hoped 
would  be  the  case  now,  which  brought  to  my  mind 
what  I  had  observed  in  the  Field  when  certain  great 
Officers  never  appeared  in  their  full  lustre  but  by  re- 
covering what  was  deemed  desperate. 

His  Prussian  Majesty  smiling,  said,  I  understand 
your  allusion,  and  hope  it  will  be  so. 
I  have,  &c. 

ANDREW    MITCHELL. 
K   K  2 


500  ORIGINAL  LETTERS. 


LETTER  DXVI. 


General  Conway  to  Sir  Aiidrezv  Mitchell;  upon  the 
coldness  with  which  the  King  of  Prussia  received 
the  Proposal  for  a  Northern  Confederation. 

[MITCHELL  PAPERS,  UT  SUPR.  Olig.'[ 


St.  James's,  Sept.  m^.  176& 
Sir, 

My  last  contained  a  mere  acknowledgment  of  youF 
Despatch  of  the  17'*^  instant  by  Lauzun;  it  was  not 
then  in  my  power  to  say  more.  Since  that,  your  Letter 
has  been  considered  by  most  of  the  servants  his  Ma- 
jesty honours  with  his  confidence,  and  I  have  now  his 
Majesty's  orders  to  inform  you  of  the  satisfaction  hi& 
Majesty  has  expressed  in  the  care  and  attention  with 
which  you  have  conducted  yourself  in  opening  to  his 
Prussian  Majesty  this  dehcate  and  important  matter. 

His  Majesty  could  not  but  regret  the  time  lost  by 
the  King  of  Prussia's  absence,  but  as  you,  from  so  long 
an  experience,  must  be  thoroughly  acquainted  with  that 
Monarch's  temper,  he  does  not  doubt,  the  part  you 
took  in  not  writing,  or  following  him  into  Silesia,  was 
upon  proper  judgment  of  the  ill  eft'ect  it  might  have 
had  in  the  outset  of  this  Negotiation,  and  the  event 
certainly  shews,  that  his  Prussian  Majesty's  temper 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  501 

and  disposition  towards  the  reception  of  this  Overture, 
were  such  as  could  not  well  bear  being  soured  by  any 
adventitious  or  accidental  circumstances  of  displeasure. 

Notwithstanding  many  things  his  Majesty  had  heard 
of  the  King  of  Prussia*'s  manner  of  expressing  himself 
of  late,  in  regard  to  connexions  with  this  Country,  his 
Majesty  could  not  but  receive  with  much  surprize  your 
account  of  the  great  coldness  with  which  he  received 
the  advance  made  to  him ;  and,  whether  his  language 
is  sincere  or  affected,  it  seems  fit  he  should  understand 
the  value  of  the  Alliance  which  his  Majesty  from  pre- 
dilection offers,  must  not  be  so  beat  down  and  treated 
as  if  England  had  particular  selfish  views  alone  to  serve, 
and  was  asking  a  boon,  instead  of  proffering  a  most 
honourable  and  advantageous  System  of  Union  for  the 
public  good ;  for  the  mutual  security  and  advantage  of 
the  Powers  proposed  to  be  parties  in  it,  and  for  none 
more  evidently  than  for  his  Prussian  Majesty  himself; 
the  jealousy  and  power  of  whose  neighbours,  and  the 
weak  state  of  whose  internal  affairs,  from  the  disorder 
of  his  trade  and  finances,  seem  to  call  loudly  for  the 
prop  of  so  firm  and  powerful  an  Alliance  as  that  now 
voluntarily  proposed  to  him. 

He  says  the  times  are  not  proper.  What,  while 
the  Family  Compact  of  the  House  of  Bourbon  exists, 
strengthened  by  their  union  with  the  House  of  Austria.'* 
The  most  formidable  combination  ever  yet  formed,  and 
the  most  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  Europe ! 


602  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

He  says  there  are  Matters  of  Discussion  between  U8 
and  France,  likely,  one  time  or  other,  to  he  the  occasion 
of  a  New  War,  in  which  the  natural  Interests  of 
Prussia  might  not  lead  her  to  take  part.  His  Majesty 
ought  to  be  told,  that  a  matter  of  discussion  called 
Silesia,  is  the  object  in  Europe  most  likely  to  kindle 
a  New  War,  if  not  timely  prevented  by  prudent  and 
proper  measures. 

These  things  must  be  put  in  their  true  light :  and 
this  change,  attempted  to  be  given  at  the  outset  of  this 
negotiation,  must  be  very  effectually  and  very  explicitly 
set  right.  His  Majesty's  dignity  demands  it,  and  the 
success  of  the  negotiation,  upon  a  proper  foot,  depends 
upon  it. 

He  asks  what  Stipulation  ?  None  till  we  know  he 
is  disposed  to  treat  upon  an  equal  foot,  on  the  general 
ground  of  mutual  defence,  and  the  support  of  the  ge- 
neral Peace  and  Tranquillity.  Free  from  subsidies  in 
time  of  peace,  and  from  such  engagements  as  the  honour 
and  interest  of  this  nation  must  refuse,  particularly  the 
Turkish  clause,  endeavoured  to  be  imposed  upon  us 
by  Russia,  and  never  before  attempted  to  be  intro- 
duced in  the  various  Treaties  of  defensive  Alliance 
made  by  Great  Britain,  either  with  Russia  or  with 
the  House  of  Austria. 

If  his  Prussian  Majesty  is  cordial,  if  he  is  disposed 
to  this  great  Union,  we  meet  him  more  than  half  way. 
If  he  expects  to  be  entreated,  he  should  know  it  is  not 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  503 

for  his  Majesty's  honour  to  go  farther  than  the  step 
already  taken. 

A  continuance  of  hesitation  will  be  looked  on  as  a 
refusal,  and  his  Prussian  Majesty  will  probably  repent, 
ere  long,  having  lost  the  fairest  and  noblest  oppor- 
tunity that  could  offer  to  build  his  own  Honour  and 
Security  on  the  same  firm  basis  with  the  general  Peace 
and  Liberty  of  Europe. 

I  am,  with  great  truth  and  regard, 

Sir,  your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

H.  S.  CONWAY. 

P.  S.  You  will  use  the  contents  of  this  Letter  at 
your  discretion,  according  to  the  situation  of  things  at 
Berlin  when  it  comes. 

To  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell. 


LETTER  DXVII. 


JSir  Andrexi)  Mitchell  to  the  Earl  of  Chatham.    Relates 
a  private  Conversation  with  the  King  of  Prussia. 

[ibid.  vol.  vii.  fol.  78.] 


(Private.)  Berlin,  6"\  Dec.  1766. 

My  Lord, 
As  in  my  Letter  to  Mr.  Secretary  Conway,  by  this 
messenger,   I  have  given  an  ample  account  of  what 


504  ORIGINAL  LETTERS. 

passed  in  the  audience  I  had  of  the  King  of  Prussia 
at  Potzdam  on  the  I't.  instant,  I  am  now  to  give  your 
Lordship,  in  confidence,  a  Relation  of  a  Conversation 
I  then  had  with  that  Monarch  as  a  private  man,  and 
not  in  the  character  of  a  Minister. 

After  the  Audience  was  ended,  I  took  the  hberty  of 
observing  to  the  King  of  Prussia  that  I  remarked  with 
regret,  in  the  course  of  the  conversation,  that  he  had 
not  spoke  to  me  with  the  same  freedom  and  openness 
he  was  wont  to  do  on  former  occasions,  and  that  I 
suspected  he  had  only  given  the  specious  not  the  real 
reasons  for  his  disinclination  to  the  Treaty  proposed. 

He  answered  with  good  humour,  that  my  conjecture 
was  not  absolutely  without  some  foundation,  and  that 
he  would  own  to  me  as  a  private  man,  that  it  was  not 
easy  for  him  to  forget  the  ill-usage  and  injustice  he  had 
met  with  from  our  Nation  at  the  time  of  making  the 
last  Peace,  and  he  then  enumerated  particulars.  I  re- 
plied, that  it  was  not  candid  to  impute  to  the  Nation 
the  faults  of  private  Men  who  were  then  unhappily 
Ministers ;  that  there  was  now  a  fixed  and  settled  Ad- 
ministration, whose  way  of  thinking  and  acting  was 
very  different  from  that  of  their  Predecessors;  that 
whilst  your  Lordship  was  at  the  head  of  it,  he  could 
reasonably  have  no  sort  of  diffidence;  that  the  Triple 
Alliance  proposed  was  a  favourite  measure  of  your 
Lordship's,  which  you  had  much  at  heart,  for  pre- 
serving the  public  tranquilhty,  and  for  uniting  the 


ORIGINAL  LETTEKS.  505 

interests  of  the  King  with  those  of  his  Prussian 
Majesty. 

The  King  of  Prussia  answered,  I  have  .1  very  high 
opinion  of  Lord  Chatham,  and  great  confidence  in  him ; 
but  what  assurances  can  you  give  me  that  he  has  power, 
and  will  continue  in  Ofifice  ?  I  replied,  I  had  not  the 
least  doubt  of  either,  as  your  Lordship  was  now  the 
darling  of  the  King  and  People.  His  Prussian  Ma- 
jesty said,  that  does  not  agree  with  my  accounts  from 
England.  I  assured  him  of  the  truth  of  what  I  had 
advanced,  and  that  I  believed  the  contrary  reports  had 
been  raised  by  your  Lordship''s  enemies.  He  said  he 
wished  it  might  be  so,  but  till  he  saw  more  stability  in 
our  Administration  he  did  not  choose  farther  con- 
nexions ;  and  he  concluded  by  adding,  I  have  spoke 
to  you  with  freedom  as  a  private  Man,  and  expect  upon 
your  honour,  that  you  will  not  make  a  bad  use  of  it ; 
which  I  am  sure  of  not  doing  in  communicating  this 
to  your  Lordship  only,  and  desiring  at  the  same  time 
the  most  perfect  secrecy. 

I  own  the  King  of  Prussia's  conduct  amazes  me.  I 
had  hopes  a  little  reflection  would  have  shewn  him  his 
real  interest,  but  vanity  and  caprice  are  often  too  strong 
for  reason ;  and  to  these  motives  I  ascribe  the  Answer 
he  has  given  to  the  King's  salutary  Proposal,  for  I  do 
not  even  suspect  his  having  Views  to  an  Alliance  in 
another  Quarter.  If  he  is  cool  to  our  Nation,  He  has 
the  French  in  abhorrence  and  contempt,  of  which  he 


506  OllIGINAL    LETTERS. 

makes  no  secret.  His  Plan  seems  to  be  (if  he  has  any) 
to  stand  unconnected  upon  his  own  Bottom,  which  ex- 
perience might  have  taught  him  is  far  from  being  a 
safe  one. 

Notwithstanding  all  that  has  passed,  I  think  it  pro- 
bable that  if  our  Treaty  with  Kussia  be  once  settled, 
the  King  of  Prussia  must  for  his  own  safety  either  de- 
sire to  be  admitted  into  it,  or  throw  himself  into  the 
arms  of  those  who  do  not  seem  desirous  of  receiving 
him ;  but,  my  Lord,  this  leads  me  too  far,  and  your 
Lordship  can  best  judge  whether  the  laying  this  high- 
minded  Prince  under  such  a  necessity  be  a  proper 
measure  at  this  Juncture. 

I  have,  &c. 

ANDR.  MITCHELL, 


LETTER  DXVIII. 


Mr.   Wroughton  to  Mr.  Mitchell  J^-wn  Poland.     A 
Mistake  about  a  Cypher. 

[ibid.  vol.  xxix.  fol.  221.  Orig.'\ 


Warsaw,  the  24«'  Dec.  1766. 
Sir, 
I  AM  honoured  with  your  Letter  of  the  IS^h  ingt.  but 
am  sorry  to  tell  you  that  what  is  contained  in  the 
Cypher  is  as  great  a  secret  to  me  as  to  every  other 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  507 

person  here ;  your  Secretary  having  made  use  of  a 
Cypher,  of  which  the  Key  is  not  in  my  possession.  I 
have  only  those  marked  H.  and  I.  1757,  and  beg  for 
the  future  that  you  will  not  write  me  in  any  other. 

We  have  as  yet  no  News  from  Petersburg,  though 
waiting  for  it  with  the  utmost  anxiety. 

I  heartily  wish  you  the  Compliments  of  the  Season, 
and  have  the  honour  to  be,  with  the  greatest  respect, 
Sir, 
Your  most  obedient 

and  most  humble  servant, 

THOMAS  WROUGHTON. 

A  son  Excellence  Mons'.  le  Chev^ 
tie  Mitchel,  Envoye  Extra,  et  Min. 
Plen'".  tie  S.  M.  B.  a  la  Cour  de 
Berlin. 


LETTER  DXIX. 


General  Conway  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell.  The  King 
receives  a  Letter  by  the  Post  from  an  English  Sailor. 
His  Majesty's  Orders  tipon  it. 

[ibid.  vol.  XX.  fol.  186.  Orig.'\ 


St.  JamesX  August  7*''.  1767. 
Sib, 

His  Majesty  has  received  a  Letter  by  the  Post  from 

one  James  Richardson,  an  English  Sailor,  who,  above 


608     .  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

a  twelve  month  ago,  was,  partly  by  force,  partly  by 
terror,  inlisted  in  the  Prussian  Service. 

As  the  King's  disposition  inclines  him  to  lend  an 
ear  to  the  Complaints  of  the  meanest  of  his  Subjects, 
he  perused  this  Letter  with  attention  ;  and  finding  in 
it  a  remarkable  air  of  truth  and  sincerity,  he  directed 
me  to  transmit  it  to  you,  that  you  may  make  inquiry 
concerning  its  grounds  and  foundation.  If  the  poor 
man's  Narrative  be  found  conformable  to  fact,  and  if 
he  be  inlisted  otherwise  than  from  his  free  choice,  it  is 
His  Majesty's  pleasure  that  you  make  application  in 
his  behalf  to  the  King  of  .Prussia,  and  recover  him  his 
liberty. 

With  regard  to  the  other  Correspondence  with  which 
you  have  favoured  me,  I  am  directed  to  express  to  you 
His  Majesty**s  satisfaction  in  your  Intelligence.  Every 
thing  is  in  a  profound  tranquillity  between  the  two 
Courts,  and  indeed  over  all  Europe,  except  in  Poland, 
where  I  hope,  as  well  as  you  do,  that  affairs  will  soon 
come  to  a  composure.  This  happy  situation  is  the 
cause  that  my  Despatches  to  you  are  so  rare,  and  con- 
tain so  little  matter  of  importance. 

I  am  with  great  truth  and  regard. 
Sir, 
Your  most  obedient 

humble  servant, 

H.  S.  CONWAY. 

Sir  Andrew  Mitchell. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  509 


LETTER  DXX. 

James  Richardson^  an  English  Sailor,  Jorcihly  de- 
tained in  the  King  of  Prussia's  service,  to  his  Ma- 
jesty King  George  III^. 

[ibid.  foL  223.  Orig.\ 


Sir, 
The  inscerted  comes  with  my  dutyfull  seruice  to 
your  honered  and  moast  Soveren  Mayjesty,  hopeing 
that  your  Mayjesty  will  pardon  my  bouldness  and 
exkcapt  of  those  few  lines,  i  am  perswaded  with  gen- 
tlemen of  qualyty  to  make  my  unfortnet  fate  known 
and  on  what  condittion  acame  into  this  Land,  iam  a 
seaman  bred  and  born  in  Whitewell  near  York  Cetty 
in  Yorkshire.  James  Richardson  is  my  name :  born 
of  powr  parrents:  served  eight  years  duttyfully  to 
John  Besswick  of  Scareborough  in  the  coasting  and 
marhent  service :  but  not  withstanding,  my  supperyours 
always  gave  me  agood  carrackter.  But  now  my  un- 
fortenate  fate  was  to  be  trapand  in  this  land,  and  to 
give  the  truth  to  your  Mayjisty  how  and  in  what  maner 
icame  into  the  King  of  Prowsia's  dyminions  isaild  from 
London  to  Memell  in  one  Squiress  Malhng  ships  of 
Scareborough ;  ihath  been  fife  years  in  his  sons  and 
his  shiping ;  and  on  May  the  SO'^'i  1766,  in  the  after- 


510  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

noon,  iwent  on  shore  with  fowr  men  more  to  tacke 
awalk  and  vue  the  fashons  of  the  country,  and  being 
warm  weather  we  went  in  to  a  pubhck  house  to  get 
adraft  of  brandy  and  warter,  and  the  landlord  askt  me 
to  tack  awalk  in  to  acountry  town  about  fowr  Inglissh 
miles  from  Memell,  and  not  thinking  anny  ill  that  the 
man  would  do  tome  iwent  with  him  and  his  wife :  my 
commarades  seming  verry  easey  about  with  me  thay 
stayd  behind  :  and  at  nine  of  clok  ihired  afarmer  and 
his  waggon  bein  the  fashon  to  ride  in  litle  waggons,  to 
bring  me  and  the  landlord  back :  came  three  men  and 
asked  me  to  let  them  ride,  they  towl  me  that  thay  lived 
in  Memmell,  but  when  by  Memmell  gates  iwanted  to 
get  out  and  discharge  the  waggon  ;  but  they  bounded 
me  fast  hand  and  feet  with  lines,  and  carryed  me  to 
Cenesbourg^  to  the  revow,  and  sold  me  for  fifty  doalloars 
to  Captain  Rabinnights  companny  in  Generall  Lalla- 
bourn  reggiment  on  foot.  Ihath  written  to  his  May- 
jisty  King  of  Prows  in  Berlien  4  letters,  and  to  my 
Parrents,  but  cannot  get  one  out  of  the  Country,  for  the 
head  Gennarralls  in  this  part  of  the  country  hath  given 
strict  orders  to  the  posts  not  to  let  anny  pass  but  what 
must  com  into  thare  hands,  so  that  aman  may  write 
untill  he  is  gray  headed  before  he  can  get  one  seafe. 
The  Generall  hath  written  me  down  to  go  under  the  life 
gard :  but  the  Captain  towld  him  that  iwass  and  inglissh 
man.     I  dont  think  he  will  send  me  away,  for  if  iget 

«  Konlngsburg. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  511 

once  to  Berlien  ishall  get  my  dishcharge,  for  the  King 
he  will  not  allow  anny  man  to  serve  him  without  he 
corns  with  agood  will.  I  was  fowr  dayes  in  the  camps 
before  they  could  get  meto  swear.  They  threatned 
me  with  imprisonment  for  term  of  life,  and  to  live  on 
bread  and  warter,  and  not  understaning  the  laws  of 
this  Land  idid  swear  to  stand  good  for  no  longer  then 
ican  getaway.  Blessed  be  God  i  am  not  yoused  ill, 
for  when  thare  own  contrymen  they  flog,  brouse,  and 
beat  with  a  stick,  they  give  me  a  good  word ;  but  when 
iam  alone  ifreat  and  cry  to  that  condishon  that  ilay 
seick  for  ten  weeks  to  geather  to  think  that  iam  stole 
away  from  my  native  land  in  such  amaner,  and  no  hope 
of  geting  clear  at  all.  A  verry  honorowble  ould  gen- 
tleman, a  marchant  from  Ingland  hath  tould  me  that  it 
would  be  the  only  way  for  to  send  your  Mayjesty  those 
few  lines,  being  aman  born  of  powr  parrants,  and  hath 
towld  me  that  when  your  Highness  pleases  to  send  sum 
of  your  subjects  to  Berlien  on  your  own  account,  to 
write  tow  or  three  lines  to  his  present  Mayjesty  on  my 
behalf  it  will  be  of  agreat  service  ingeting  my  dis- 
charge ;  and  for  the  good  your  Mayjesty  will  do  for 
me  iam  willing  to  obbay  and  serve  your  Mayjesty 
ather  by  land  or  sea,  so  long  as  breth  remain  ;  as  i  hope 
and  pray  to  my  macker  for  your  Hieness  to  forgive 
and  pardon  me  if  i  hath  written  anny  thing  amiss,  for 
ihath  partly  forgoten  my  mothers  toungue,  and  to  in- 
dight  my  letters  in  adeascente  maner.  This  Letter 
imust  smugle  awayin  toan  inglishmans  hands  that  none 


512  OllIGINAL    LETTERS. 

of  the  ofRscears  catsh  me  with  this  letter,  iam  28  years 
of  agge  and  5  foot  aleaven  in  hight.  and  so  no  more  at 
prescent,  but  remain  in  prays  to  the  Allmighty  for  your 
Mayjestys  long  rean,  and  in  peace  with  all  men 

JAMES  mCHARDSON. 

From  the  revow  in  camps 
in  Cenesbourg  May  the  Sl^h.  1767. 

loallenbourn  is  the  gennarralls  name,  in  Captains 
Rabynights  companny  on  foot,  owr  winterss  quarters  is 
in  Anglebourg  15  duchmiles  from  Cenesbourg. 

For  his  Prescent  Mayjesty 

King  George  y"  third 

London. " 


Indorsed,  "  in  Mr.  Conway's  Letter  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell  of  the 
T\  Aug.  1767." 


Upon  a  separate  Sheet  is, 

The  Sailor's  Certificate  of  his  discharge. 

"  This  is  to  sertify  that  I  James  Richardson  hath 
got  my  discharge  from  lallenboun  ridgiment  on  foot, 
and  hath  got  one  dallar  to  bear  my  expences  on  my 
way,  an^.  a  pass,  and  macke  the  best  of  my  way  to  owld 
ingland. 

Rasllinbourg  September  18*^'. 
1767." 

»  The  Post-matk  of  the  Letter  is  "  Hull,"  from  which  place  it  appears  to  have 
been  forwarded  by  the  friend  into  whose  hanJs  the  sailor  professed  his  intention  of 
smuggling  it.  ... 


ORIGINAL    LETTEUS.  513 


LETTER  DXXI. 

Sir  Andrew  Mitchell  to  Lord  Rochfbrd.  The  King 
of  Prussia  still  insensible  to  the  advantages  of  the 
proposed  Coiifederacy. 

[ibid.  vol.  vii.  fol.  200  b.] 


(Secret.) 

Berlin,  Saturday  the  11<1>  February,  1769. 
My  Lord, 

Ix  answer  to  your  Lordship's  Letter  of  the  27''.  of 
January  I  have  the  satisfaction  to  acquaint  You  that 
the  conduct  I  have  hitherto  held  at  this  Court,  will  be 
found  to  be  exactly  agreeable  to  His  Majesty''s  senti- 
ments signified  to  me  in  your  Letter. 

Since  the  year  1766,  when,  by  his  Majesty's  com- 
mand, I  made  an  Offer  to  the  King  of  Prussia,  of 
entering  into  an  Alliance  with  Great  Britain  and 
Russia,  which  that  Monarch  was  pleased  to  receive 
not  only  with  coldness  and  indifference,  but  even  to 
decline  it  absolutely,  I  have  never,  directly  nor  indi- 
rectly, dropt  the  least  hint  of  His  Majesty's  desiring 
any  stricter  Connexion  with  this  Court,  and  have 
avoided,  in  the  Conversations  I  have  had  with  the 
Prussian  Ministers,  the  showing  any  curiosity  to  be 
informed  of  the  King  their  Master"'s  transactions  at  the 
Court  of  Petersburg  or  elsewhere,  convinced  in  my 

VOL.  IV.    SER.  2.  L  L 


514  ORIGINAL    LETTERS 

own  mind  that  His  Prussian  Majesty  would,  sooner  or 
later,  repent  of  having  refused  the  generous  Offer  His 
Majesty  had  made  him. 

How  far  the  King  of  Prussia  may  wish  success  to  an 
Alliance  between  Great  Britain  and  Russia,  I  have  no 
opportunity  of  knowing,  but  cannot  help  doubting  as 
to  his  sincerity  in  that  point. .  , 

The  Language  His  Prussian  Majesty  directs  his 
Ministers  to  hold  at  different  Courts,  may  possibly  be 
contradictory,  as  it  depends  chiefly  upon  the  repre- 
sentations, whether  well  or  ill-founded,  made  by  those 
Ministers,  and  on  the  humour  the  King  of  Prussia 
happens  to  be  in  at  the  time  he  receives  them,  with- 
out reflecting  on  the  consequences ;  for  I  yet  see  no 
symptom  of  His  Prussian  Majesty's  having  altered  his 
Opinion,  nor  have  I  been  able  to  discover  that  that 
Prince  has  adopted  any  other  system  than  that  of 
waiting  to  profit  of  Events  as  they  may  happen. 

In  this  situation  of  Affairs  I,  therefore,  cannot  help 
admiring  your  Lordship's  Answer  to  Count  Maltzan, 
viz*.  That  it  did  not  become  His  Majesty  at  this  time  to 
make  an  Offer  of  joint  Mediation,  at  the  requisition 
of  a  third  Power ,  unless  it  was  desired  hy  tlie  Court 
of  Petersburg  itself. 

I  have,  &c. 

'  ANDB.  MITCHELL. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS;  515 


LETTER  DXXII. 

Lord  Roclifm-d  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell.     The  Expul- 
sion of  Mr.  Wilksjrom  the  House  of  Commons. 

[ibid.  vol.  xxi.  fol.  27.  Orig.\ 


Whitehall,  7«'.  Feb.  1769. 

SlE, 

Having  nothing  particular  at  present  in  command 
from  His  Majesty,  I  write  only  to  have  the  satisfaction 
of  acquainting  you  that  on  Friday  last  the  expulsion 
of  Mr.  Wilks  from  the  House  of  Commons  was  de- 
termined by  a  Majority  of  219  to  137,  which  it  is  to  be 
hoped  will  undeceive  Foreign  Courts  with  regard  to 
the  embarrassment  they  might  suppose  would  continue 
to  be  given  to  Government  by  that  turbulent  spirit. 
I  am,  with  great  truth  and  regard, 
Sir, 
Your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

ROCHFORD. 

P.  S.  Your  Letters  to  No.  6.  have  been  received 
and  laid  before  His  Majesty. 

Sir  Andrew  Mitchell. 

LL  S 


516  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  DXXIII. 

Sir  Andrew  Mitchell  to  Lord  Cathcart  at  St.  Peters- 
burgh.    Baron  DimsdaWs  reception  at  Potsdam. 

[ibid.  voL  vii.  foL  211.] 


Berlin,  Saturday,  22  April,  1769. 
My  Lord, 
Since  my  last  of  the  14"\  of  March  I  am  honoured 
with  your  Excellency's  Note  of  the  1 7^^.  February,  O.  S., 
enclosing  the  printed  Account  of  the  advantages  ob- 
tained over  the  Tartars  by  the  Russians,  and  on  the 
ll^Ji.  instant  Baron  Dimsdale  arrived  here  and  de- 
livered to  me  your  Excellency's  two  Letters,  and  I  have 
since  received  that  of  the  ^  March  by  Post. 
(  Baron  Dimsdale  was  in  so  great  a  hurry  to  get  home, 
that  with  the  utmost  difficulty  I  prevailed  with  him  to 
stay  two  days  here,  and  for  that  purpose  was  obliged 
to  read  to  him  the  paragraph  in  your  Excellency's 
Letter  that  concerned  himself,  with  which  he  was 
highly  pleased.  On  Wednesday  the  12*.  he  delivered 
Count  Solm's  Packet  to  Count  Finckenstein,  and  the 
next  day  in  the  evening  he  was  desired  by  an  express 
message  from  the  King  of  Prussia  to  come  to  Potzdam, 
as  his  Prussian  Majesty  wanted  to  see  him.  Accord- 
ingly the  Baron  set  out  for  that  place  on  the  14*h.  in- 
stant, and  I  have  no  doubt  he  will  be  very  well  received. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  517 

So  far  I  had  written  to  go  by  the  last  Post,  but  de- 
layed finishing  my  Letter  till  I  should  get  an  account 
from  Baron  Dimsdale  of  his  reception  at  Potzdam, 
which  I  haVe  now  received  in  a  Letter  from  that  Gen- 
tleman, dated  the  16  '■%  from  Magdeburg,  and  shall 
give  it  your  Excellency  in  his  own  words : 

"  On  Saturday  the  15*,  in  the  morning,  I  was  con- 
ducted in  a  coach  with  a  person  that  spoke  English  to 
Sans  Souci,  where  we  arrived  about  ten  o'clock,  and, 
after  waiting  about  an  hour,  was  told  that  the  King 
was  gone  to  take  a  ride,  but  would  see  me  on  his  re- 
turn. At  twelve  the  King  returned,  and  I  was  ordered 
to  go  into  his  apartment.  He  met  us  at  the  door, 
and  said  in  French,  *  Sir,  I  think  you  inoculated  the 
Empress  and  the  Prince  at  Petersburgh ;""  I  answered, 
*  Yes,  an't  please  your  Majesty ."'  All  the  answer  he 
made  was,  *  I  feUcitate  you  on  the  occasion,  and  wish 
you  a  good  journey.'  Then,  turning  short  on  his  heel, 
he  was  gone  in  a  moment. 

"  I  make  no  reflections  on  this  reception,  but  leave 
you  to  judge  of  it  from  tliis  Relation.  Only  it  seems 
as  if  an  Englishman  was  not  in  fashion  there,  for  upon 
the  whole  his  Majesty's  manner  of  speaking  was  far 
from  being  gracious." 

.  The  singularity  of  this  Reception  would  most  cer- 
tainly surprise  me  if  I  was  less  acquainted  with  the 
King  of  Prussia  :  however  I  cannot  agree  with  the 
Baron  that  it  was  owing  to  his  being  an  Englishman. 


518  OEIGINAL    LETTERS.  ' 

The  affront  was  certainly  to  the  Czarina  and  to  Count 
Solm's  recommendation. 

The  same  want  of  Communication  with  regard  to 
this  Court's  transactions,  complained  of  in  my  former 
Letters  to  Your  Excellency,  still  continues,  and  on  my 
part  I  make  no  Advances,  having  received  n©  Orders 
to  that  purpose,  nor  observed  any  symptom  of  a  Change 
of  Sentiments  in  the  King  of  Prussia. 

I  have,  &c. 

,  AKDR.  MITCHELL. 


LETTER  DXXIV. 

Sir  'Andrew   Mitchell   to   Lord  Rochford.       Count 
:    »     Kamckejmid  of  Agriculture. 

[ibid.  vol.  vii.  fol.  214  b.] 


(Private.) 

Berhn,  29*.  April,  1769. 

My  Loed, 
Count  Kamcke,  a  gentleman  of  considerable  rank 
and  fortune  in  this  Country,  will  deliver  to  your  Lord- 
ship a  Letter  of  mine  of  the  seventh  instant,  wherein  I 
took  the  liberty  of  introducing  him  to  your  Lordship. 
He  is  particularly  curious  in  Agriculture,  and  his  chief 
business  in  England  he  told  me  is  to  learn  from  the 
Farmers  their  Arts  of  Cultivation,  &c.  and  for  that 
purpose  he  proposes  to  retire  into  Yorkshire  for  some 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  .  519 

time,  and  will  lodge  in  the  house  of  Christopher  Brown 
at  Nottingly  near  Ferrybridge  in  that  County. 

This  Gentleman  is  a  great  projector,  though  in  him- 
self no  conjuror ;  but  as  I  have  reason  to  suspect  that 
part  of  his  errand  to  Britain  may  be  to  engage  useful 
and  industrious  artificers  to  transport  themselves  into 
this  Country,  I  think  it  my  duty  to  give  your  Lord- 
ship this  particular  notice,  as  well  for  the  sake  of  the 
Publick,  as  for  these  unfortunate  People,  who  may  be 
deluded  by  fair  promises  to  come  abroad,  which  are 
seldom  or  never  fulfilled  in  this  Country. 

I  have,  &c. 

«  ANDREW    MITCHELL. 


LETTER  DXXV. 

Lo7'd  Rochford  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell,  A  Contest 
at  the  Ball  at  Court  for  precedence,  between  ike 
French  and  Russian  Ambassadors. 

[ibid.  vol.  xxi.  fol.  33.] 


(Private  and  Circular.) 

Whitehall,  IS^h  June,  1769. 
Sir, 

I  THINK  it  necessary  to  acquaint  your  Excellency  of 
a  disagreeable  Affair  which  passed  at  the  Ball  at  Court 
on  the  5'*>.  Instant,  and  which  you  will  no  doubt 
have  heard  of  through  other  channels. 

The  Russian  Ambassador,  coming  in  first,  placed 


520 


ORIGINAL    LETTEllS. 


himself  on  the  bench  next  the  Ladies ;  the  Imperial 
Ambassador  coming  in  soon  after,  Count  Czernicheff 
very  politely  gave  him  the  upper  hand.  Some  time  after- 
wards the  French  Ambassador  coming  in,  stood  before 
the  Envoys'  bench  behind  the  Ambassadors.  Count 
Czernicheff,  turning  round,  entered  into  conversation 
with  him,  when,  on  a  sudden,  the  French  Ambassador 
stepped  over  the  bench  and  pushed  himself  in  with 
some  violence  between  the  Imperial  and  Russian  Am- 
bassadors. Some  very  warm  words  passed  between 
Count  Czernicheff  and  the  French  Ambassador,  the 
former  particularly  treated  him  as  an  Impertinent. 
The  Spanish  Ambassador  then  coming  in,  and  settling 
himself  quietly  amongst  the  Ladies,  Count  Chatelet 
beckoned  to  him  to  come  and  place  himself  next  the 
Imperial  Ambassador,  on  which  the  Russian  Ambas- 
sador got  up,  and  seated  himself  between  Madame 
Maltzan  and  Madame  Very.  At  going  away  some 
warm  words  again  passed,  and  the  Russian  Am- 
bassador following  Count  Chatelet,  more  high  words 
ensued  upon  the  staircase,  and  they  both  went  together 
in  the  Russian  Ambassador''s  coach. 

The  King,  out  of  his  great  tenderness  and  humanity, 
^rdered  Lord  Weymouth  and  myself  to  wait  on  the 
French  and  Russian  Ambassadors  to  prevent  any  mis- 
chief happening,  which  was  accordingly  done. 

On  Tuesday  morning  Count  Chatelet  made  a  visit 
to  the  Russian  Ambassador,  and  said  how  sorry  he  was 
such  an  affair  had  happened.     The  Russian  Ambassa- 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  621 

dor  appears  personally  satisfied  with  the  excuses  made 
for  the  personal  incivility,  but  considers  his  Court  as 
highly  insulted. 

The  two  Ambassadors  were  desired  by  Lord  Wey- 
mouth and  me  to  consider  the  next  Levee  day  as  in- 
consequential with  regard  to  Ceremony,  till  the  King's 
pleasure  was  known  on  what  had  passed ;  and  thus  the 
affair  remains  between  the  Courts  of  Petersburgh  and 
France :  but  as  the  French  Ambassador's  violent  pro- 
ceedings on  this  occasion  could  not  be  agreeable,  hap- 
pening immediately  in  the  Palace,  a  Note  will  be  sent 
from  the  Lord  Chamberlain  to  all  the  Foreign  Mi- 
nisters, notifying  that  the  King  does  not  expect  there 
should  be  any  Ceremony  at  a  Court  Ball,  and  when 
the  Note  is  given.  You  shall  have  a  copy  of  it. 

I  will  make  no  Observations  of  my  own  upon  this 
affair,  but  leave  you  to  judge  from  the  true  state  of  it, 
who  has  been  in  the  wrong.  You  must  be  sensible  by 
the  bold  step  of  the  French  Ambassador,  he  got  the 
pas.  Whether  the  Russian  will  attempt  to  recover  it 
on  another  occasion,  I  cannot  pretend  to  determine. 
I  am,  with  great  truth  and  respect, 
Sir,  your  Excellency"'s 

most  obedient  humble  servant, 

ROCHFORD.  ■; 

P.  S.  Since  writing  the  above  the  enclosed  note  has 
been  sent  to  all  the  Foreign  Ministers  residing  here.  ^ 

ROCHFORD. 

Sir  Andrew  Mitchell. 


52S  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

Copy. 

"  The  Earl  of  Hertford  liord  Chamberlain  of  His  Majesty's  House 
hold,  has  received  His  Majesty's  Commands  to  communicate  to  all  the 
Ministers  of  Foreign  Powers  residing  at  this  Court,  that  the  Balls  at  St. 
James's  have  ever  been  considered  by  the  King  as  Private  Balls,  where 
no  Precedence  was  to  be  observed.  His  Majesty  conceives  that  a  want  of 
Information  on  this  head  may  have  given  rise  to  unpleasant  Altercations 
which  this  Notice  must  effectually  prevent  for  the  future. 

9«».  June,  1769." 


LETTER  DXXVI. 

Sir  Andrew  Mitchell  to  Lord  Rocliford.     The  King 
of  Prussia's  approbation  of  General  Paoli's  conduct. 

[ibid.  vol.  vii.  fol.  222.] 


(Separate.) 

Berlin,  Saturday,  17*.  June,  1769. 

My  Lord, 
The  first  News  from  Italy  of  the  brave  Defence  of 
the  Corsicans  and  the  Defeat  of  the  French  gave  uni- 
versal joy  in  this  Country,  and  raised  the  expectation 
of  all  ranks  of  People,  who  naturally  love  liberty  even 
though  they  do  not  enjoy  it;  but  what  is  more  particu- 
lar, his  Prussian  Majesty,  as  I  am  informed,  not  only 
expressed  great  satisfaction  at  the  ill  success  of  the 
French,  but  high  approbation  of  General  Paoli''s  con- 
duct, and  openly  drank  that  gentleman's  health  at  his 
table.  Whether  this  proceeded  from  his  affection  to 
the  Corsicans  and  their  cause,  or  from  his  hatred  to  the 
French,  I  shall  not  determine. 

I  have,  &c. 

ANDREW    MITCHELL. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  523 


LETTER  DXXVII. 

Sir  Andrew  Mitchell  to  Lord  Rochford.     His  detail  of 

a  Conversation  with  the  King  of  Prussia. 

[ibid.  vol.  vii.  foL  227.1 


(Secret.) 

Berlin,  Saturday,  \6^\  July,  1769. 
My  Lord, 
■  The  fit  of  the  Gout  with  which  the  King  of  Prussia 
has  been  affected,  appears  not  to  have  been  so  sKght  as 
was  reported.  He  has  the  gout  still  in  one  of  his  hands, 
and  his  looks  are  visibly  altered  by  it,  but  in  other 
respects  he  seems  to  be  very  well. 

I  must  now  mention  to  your  Lordship  an  incident 
which  happened  on  the  \^*^.  instant  at  Charlottenbourg. 
In  the  circle  at  the  Queen's  assembly  his  Prussian 
Majesty  was  pleased  to  distinguish  me  very  particu- 
larly. He  first  led  me  into  a  window,  and  after  talk- 
ing some  time  there,  he  carried  me  into  another  room, 
where  he  made  me  sit  down  by  him,  and  I  believe  our 
conversation  lasted  above  a  quarter  of  an  hour ;  towards 
the  end  of  it  the  King  of  Prussia'^s  two  brothers,  Princes 
Henry  and  Ferdinand,  entered  the  Room,  when  his 
Prussian  Majesty  made  them  sit  down  by  us.  This 
must  have  been  observed  by  all  present,  as  the  door  of 
the  room  into  which  we  had  retired  was  left  open ;  and 


524  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

some  people  remarked  that  his  Prussian  Majesty  had 
taken  little  or  no  notice  of*  the  French  Minister,  whose 
behaviour  has,  hitherto,  as  far  as  I  know,  been  very 
prudent  and  circumspect.        ^ 

However  little  material  the  Conversation  I  had  with 
the  King  of  Prussia  was,  I  shall  acquaint  your  Lord- 
ship with  the  heads  of  it.  That  Monarch  asked  me 
about  Wilks ;  I  answered,  his  credit  was  greatly  de- 
cayed, and  he  sunk  in  reputation ;  that  the  people  of 
England  were  returning  to  their  right  senses,  though 
there  were  not  wanting  some  seditious  men,  who  en- 
deavoured to  alarm  them  upon  points  equally  frivolous 
as  those  of  Wilks,  but  that  I  believed  they  could  not 
succeed,  as  the  grievances  they  complained  of  were 
imaginary,  not  real,  and  that  in  all  popular  Governments 
it  had  ever  been  the  conduct  of  seditious  men  to  capti- 
vate and  deceive  the  people  with  specious  pretences. 
His  Prussian  Majesty  then  talked  of  Corsica,  and  of 
the  fate  of  Paoli  with  some  tenderness,  and  of  the  ad- 
vantages that  might  accrue  to  the  French  from  the 
acquisition  of  that  island.  To  this  I  replied  that  Paoli 
had  many  well-wishers  in  England,  and  his  fate  was 
greatly  to  be  lamented,  but  that  I  could  not  see  the 
advantages  the  French  would  reap  from  that  Conquest 
whilst  England  remained  superior  at  sea;  that  I  had 
heard  there  were  few  or  no  sea-ports  in  Corsica  the 
possession  of  which  could  not  be  maintained  without 
great  expense;  that  so   soon  as  the  French  became 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  5^5 

superior  at  sea,  the  ports  of  Marseilles,  Toulon,  and  An- 
tibes  were  sufficient  for  their  purposes  of  intercepting 
the  Levant  trade,  &c.  - 

The  next  head  the  King  of  Prussia  mentioned  to  me 
was  concerning  the  English  East  India  Company,  the 
fall  of  their  stock,  and  the  danger  they  were  supposed 
to  be  in  from  the  attacks  of  the  Indian  Princes.     To 
this  I  said  that  I  really  had  no  information  but  from  the 
Newspapers,  but  that  it  appeared  to  me  the  Directors 
had   acted  with  great   good  faith   and   prudence   in 
producing  publicly  the  despatches  they  had  received 
from  the  Indies,  and  thereby  preventing  the  further 
fall  of  the  stock  ;  that  the  interest  of  many  who  wanted 
to  purchase  in  at  a  low  price  had  occasioned  the  sudden 
fall,  upon  the  arrival  of  the  first  news  from  India ;  that 
I  gave  very  little  credit  to  the  reports  printed  in  the 
Newspapers  concerning  Indian  affairs,  as  there  was 
much  to  be  got  by  sinking  the  price  of  stock,  and  that 
besides  the  French,  Dutch,  and  other  nations,  jealous 
of  the  advantages  the  English  had  in  the  East  Indies, 
greedily  embraced  and  propagated  every  report  that 
could  hurt  the  English  Company,  &c. ;  that  I  had  no 
doubt  the  French  were  endeavouring  to  do  us  all  the 
mischief  they  could  in  the  Indies,  but  as  this  was  na- 
turally to  be  expected,  I  hoped  and  believed  his  Ma- 
jesty's Ministers  would  give  the  greatest  attention  to 
every  transaction  that  could  in  any  wise  affect  so  im- 
portant a  branch  of  Commerce. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

The  last  question  the  King  of  Prussia  asked  me 
was,  whether  we  had  any  hopes  of  settHng  our  Ame- 
rican affairs.  I  answered  we  had  good  hopes,  that  I 
had  heard  a  Plan  was  actually  preparing  for  that  pur- 
pose, though  no  part  of  it  had  yet  been  communicated 
to  me. 

Thus  I  have  minutely  stated  to  your  Lordship  every 
thing  worth  mentioning  that  passed  between  his  Prus- 
sian Majesty  and  me,  but  can  draw  no  conclusion  from 
it  with  regard  to  a  Change  of  sentiments.  Perhaps  the 
whole  that  has  happened  may  have  been  a  scene  calcu- 
lated to  mortify  the  French  Minister  at  this  Court, 

I  have,  &c. 

ANDREW    MITCHELL. 


LETTER  DXXVIII. 


Sir  Andrew  Mitchell  to  Lord  Rochford.  The  King 
qfPmssia's  "  Dialogue  de  Morale.""  His  Majesty 
takes  Medicines  of  his  own  prescription. 

[ibid.  foi.  274  b.] 


Berlin,  Saturday,  31**.  March,  1770. 
My  Lord, 
Since  my  Letter  of  the  27''i.  nothing  has  occurred 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  527 

here  worth  writing,  and  I  take  the  liberty  to  transmit 
to  your  Lordship  some  Copies  of  a  Httle  Piece  entitled 
"  Dialogue  de  Morale  ^  Tusage  de  la  jeune  Noblesse,^ 
which  was  published  here  two  days  ago,  and  is  said  to 
be  of  the  King  of  Prussia's  composition. 

I  have  now  the  satisfaction  to  acquaint  your  Lord- 
ship that  his  Prussian  Majesty  is  in  a  fair  way  of  re- 
covery from  a  very  severe  fit  of  the  Gout,  with  which 
he  was  attacked  last  week. 

The  King  of  Prussia''s  indisposition  proved  more 
serious  than  was  apprehended.  He  was  seized,  I  am 
told,  with  a  fit  of  the  gout  and  the  emerods  at  the 
same  time;  but  that  monarch  is  now  thought  out  of  all 
danger,  into  which  he  had  thrown  himself  by  the  taking 
of  some  medicines  of  his  own  prescription,  and  by  what 
I  have  heard  was  in  more  danger  from  the  medicines 
than  from  the  distempers,  of  which,  however,  I  have 
not  yet  learnt  any  accurate  account. » 

I  have,  &c. 

ANDREW    MITCHELL. 


•  The  King  of  Prussia's  recovery  is  noticed  In  several  subsequent  Letters. 

In  one  to  Lord  Rochford,  dated  Berlin,  Saturday  26'''.  May,  1T70,  Sir  Andrew  says 
"  Two  days  ago  was  published  here  a  Pamphlet  entitled  Examen  de  I'Bssai  tut  let 
Prejuges,  a  book  which  has  made  much  noise  in  France,  which  I  have  yet  hardly 
time  to  read,  but  the  Rramen  is  worth  Your  Lordship's  looking  into,  for  I  am  well 
assured  it  is  of  the  King  of  Prussia's  own  writing,  though  I  cannot  guess  at  the  reason 
of  publishing  it." 


528  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  DXXIX. 

Lord  Barrington  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell.  The  Entry 
of  Lord  North  into  Administration. 

[ibid.  vol.  XXXV.  fol.  79.  Orig.'\ 


Cavendish  Square,  April  24"'.  \TiO. 
#  #  *  *  * 

Though  I  can  send  you  no  very  agreeable  Account 
of  what  is  doing  here,  I  can  say  with  truth  that  in  my 
opinion  things  are  in  many  respects  better  than  they 
were.  Lord  North  bids  fairer  for  making  an  able  and 
good  Minister  than  any  man  we  have  had  a  great  while. 
Lord  Chatham  excepted,  whose  conduct  this  winter 
has  cancelled  many  of  the  obligations  this  Country  owed 
him  for  his  services  in  Administration. 

I  think  also  that  our  heats  are  subsiding,  and  that 
men  are  coming  to  their  senses. 

When  I  can  draw  a  like  and  at  the  same  time  a 
pleasing  Picture  of  our  situation,  you  shall  be  again 
reminded  of,  dear  Sir, 

Your  ever  faithful  and  affectionate 

BARRINGTON. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  529 

LETTER  DXXX. 

Sir  Andrew  Mitchell  to  Lord  RocJiford.     The  French 
advise  the  Pretender  to  go  to  the  English  Colonies. 

[ibid.  vol.  vii.  fol.  281  b.] 


(Private.)  .   Berlin,  Saturday,  9.&^.  May,  1770. 

My  Lord, 

I  HAVE  received  certain  Notice  that  the  King  of 
Prussia,  one  day  last  week,  at  his  own  table  at  Potz- 
dam,  told  as  a  piece  of  news  which  he  had  received 
from  his  agent  at  Rome,  that  the  Duke  of  Choiseul 
had  advised  the  Pretender  to  go  to  the  English  Colo- 
nies, which  he  had  rejected  with  great  indignation  and 
contempt. 

These  are  all  the  particulars  I  know. 
I  have,  &c. 

ANDREW    MITCHELL. 


LETTER  DXXXI. 

Lord  Barringtcni  to  Sir  Andrew  Mitchell.  The  ge- 
neral state  of  Affairs.  Wilks  and  the  Bill  of  Rights 
forgotten. 

[ibis.  vol.  XXXV.  fol.  71'] 


Cavendish  Square,  Jan.  10*.  1771. 
#  *  *  #  ♦ 

I  HAVE  not  taken  upon  me  to  inform  you  of  what  has 
passed  here  since  you  left  us ;  for  little  has  happened 
that  you  would  read  or  I  could  write  with  pleasure. 

VOL.  IV.    SER.  2.  MM 


530  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

Things  at  home  are  much  mended  in  the  course  of 
last  year.  Wilks  and  the  Bill  of  Rights  are  entirely 
forgotten,  except  now  and  then  when  the  wild  and 
wicked  wretches  who  composed  that  seditious  faction 
abuse  each  other  in  print.  They  have  openly  quarrelled, 
and  spare  each  other  as  little  as  they  spared  better  men. 

The  Country  and  the  Metropolis  are  perfectly  quiet. 

The  King  (though  most  shamefully  attacked  in 
newspapers  with  a  licentiousness  which  his  Servants 
are  very  blamable  to  suffer)  gains  ground  in  the  opinion 
and  esteem  of  his  People,  and  the  Ministry  though 
not  highly  rated  is  not  disliked.  If  our  Armies, 
Fleets,  and  Finances,  are  not  exactly  what  the  Nation 
wishes  them  to  be,  they  are  certainly  in  better  condition 
than  those  of  our  Neighbours ;  and  if,  contrary  to  my 
wishes,  we  must  go  to  War  about  a  most  trifling  ob- 
ject,»  I  do  not  see  that  we  have  much  to  fear. 
*  *  *  *  * 

Your  old  and  sincere  friend  the  Writer  of  this  Letter, 
has  not  had  a  moment's  illness  since  he  saw  you ;  and 
has  felt  but  little  disquiet  from  the  abuse  he  has  long 
undergone  in  common  with  his  betters. 

Adieu,  my  dear  Sir  Andrew,  believe  me  ever  with 
the  most  perfect  truth  and  affection 

Your  most  faithful  and  ' 

obedient  humble  servant, 

BAREINGTON. 
•  L«rd  BarringtoB  alludes  to  the  Di«put«  with  Spain  ooncerninf  Falkland's  IslaniU. 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


531 


LETTER  DXXXII. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Lort  to  Mr.  Cole.     Lord  Chatham  Jias 

a  Fit  in  the  House  of  Lords. 

[ms.  cole,  vol.  xxiv.  foL  154b.] 


London,  April  8,  1778. 
Dear  Sir, 
#  »  *  «  « 

I  WAS  in  the  House  of  Lords  when  Lord  Chatham 
fell  down  in  a  fit :  from  which  he  is  not  yet  well  reco- 
vered. I  have  no  doubt  that  the  Duke  of  Richmond''s 
pointed  attack  upon  him  was  the  principal  cause : 
though  the  heat  and  effluvia  of  a  very  crowded  house 

must  have  also  cooperated. 

«  #  #  «  * 

Adieu. 

M.  L. 


LETTER  DXXXIIL 


Mrs.  Bristow  to  General  Washington^  respecting  a 
Memorial  in  favour  of  her  Son^  an  infant y  whose 
liereditary  estates  in  America  had  been  confiscated, 

[from  a  volume  of  Ori^-.  letters  bequeathed  to  the  BRITISH 
MUSEUM  BY  THE  LATE  JOHN  WILMOT,  ESQ.] 

•if*  Long  before  this  Letter  had  reached  its  address,  General  Wash- 
ington had  resigned  his  commission,  and  had  withdrawn  into  the  shade  of 

M  M  2 


532  ORIGINAL  LETTERS. 

private  life.  He  forwarded  Mrs.  Bristow's  Memorial,  without  delay,  to 
the  Governor  of  Virginia ;  and  his  final  Letter,  at  the  end  of  two  years, 
to  a  person  with  whom  he  had  no  acquaintance,  does  credit  both  to  his 
head  and  to  his  heart. 


Spring  Garden,  London,  27**'.  Nov.  1783. 
Sir, 

The  high  character  I  have  heard  of  your  Excellency 
emboldens  me  to  take  the  liberty  of  addressing  a  few 
lines  to  you  (though  I  have  not  the  honour  of  being 
personally  known  to  you)  in  behalf  of  my  Son. 

The  Copy  of  a  Memorial  and  Petition  addressed  to 
the  Governor,  the  Senate,  and  House  of  Delegates  of 
the  State  of  Virginia,  which  I  have  the  honour  to  en- 
close to  your  Excellency  from  myself  and  the  two  gen- 
tlemen who  are  joint  Guardians  with  me,  will  convince 
you  of  the  justice  of  our  cause  and  claim. 

You,  Sir,  I  am  told,  have  children  of  your  own, 
therefore  can  more  easily  imagine  than  I  describe  what 
a  parent  must  feel  on  seeing  her  only  son,  a  child  of 
now  but  ten  years  old,  deprived  of  so  large  a  property, 
which  has  been  in  his  family  for  so  many  years ;  and  his 
father  dying  seven  years  ago,  he  will  have  three  sisters' 
fortunes  to  pay,  which  of  course  were  left  in  proportion. 

Your  Excellency,  from  your  noble  character  and 
abilities,  must  have  great  weight  with  the  Legislature. 
Let  me  entreat  you  by  all  the  ties  of  honour,  justice, 
and  humanity,  to  support  the  Petition.  Consider,  Sir, 
my  child's  tender  age  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  do 


OBIGINAL    LETTERS.  53S 

any  act  inimical  to  the  Country  ;  and  the  laws  of  every 
State  (1  have  always  understood)  are  formed  to  protect, 
and  not  to  prejudice  Infant  Property. 

May  I  hope  you  will  not  think  me  too  presuming 
if  I  request  the  honour  of  a  line  to  let  me  know  this 
has  reached  your  hands.  I  will  not  further  intrude 
on  your  time,  but  beg  leave  to  subscribe  myself  with 
great  respect, 

Your  Excellency''s 
most  obedient  humble  servant, 

M.  BUISTOW. 

Hifl  Excellency  General  Washington. 


LETTER  DXXXIV. 

General  Washington  to  Mrs.  Bristow  in  return. 

[ibid.  Orig-I 


Mount  Vernon  (in  Virginia),  15  ''.  June,  1784. 
Madam, 
Your  Letter  and  the  Duplicate  of  it,  dated  the  27*. 
of  last  November,  with  the  Petition  to  the  Assembly  of 
this  State,  only  came  to  my  hands  the  10  h.  instant.  By 
the  following  Post  I  transmitted  them  to  the  Governor, 
as  the  Legislature  was  then  sitting  at  Richmond. 

What  effect  the  Application  may  have  on  that  Body, 
is  not  for  me,  at  this  time,  to  announce.     It  is  to  be 


534  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

feared  however,  as  the  lands  were  involved  in  the  act 
of  general  confiscation,  previous  to  the  Preliminary 
Articles  of  Peace,  that  unless  there  is  something  in  the 
case  more  discriminating  than  Minority  (which  I  un- 
derstand is  not  an  exclusion  in  the  law)  You  will  receive 
very  little  redress.  But  from  any  thing  I  know  at  pre- 
sent of  the  issue  (if  a  determination  has  been  had  upon 
the  subject)  I  can  furnish  you  with  no  information  on 
which  to  ground  either  Hope  or  Fear.  If  it  were  the 
latter,  it  would  afford  cause  for  regret  that  minors  and 
innocent  persons  who  have  not  aided  or  abetted  the 
Contest  should  have  become  sufferers  by  it.  This, 
however,  is  but  too  often  the  case  in  civil,  as  well  as 
other  Commotions. 

I  have  not  delayed  a  moment.  Madam,  to  acknow- 
ledge, after  they  came  to  my  hands,  the  receipt  of  your 
Letter  and  Petition,  and  shall  have  great  pleasure  in 
announcing  the  favourable  issue  of  the  latter,  if  the 
.  fact  will  warrant  it. 

With  great  respect,  I  have 

the  honour  to  be.  Madam, 

your  most  humble  servant, 

G,  WASHINGTON. 
Mrs.  Bristow. 


ORIGINAL    LETTKllS.  535 


LETTER  DXXXV. 

General  Washington  to  Mrs.  Bristow.  The  Jinal 
Answer  upon  the  decision  made  by  the  Assembly  of 
Virginia^ 

£iBiD.   Orig.\ 


Mount  Vernon,  2'.  June,  1786. 
Madam, 
Though  small  were  the  services  I  rendered  you, 
consequent  of  your  first  Application  to  me,  yet  it  be- 
hoves me  to  add,  in  answer  to  your  favour  of  the  15'*^ 
of  December  last,  that  it  was  all  I  then  had,  or  now 
have  in  my  power  to  offer.  For  having  no  share  in  the 
Legislative  or  Executive  concerns  of  this  Country,  I 
could  do  no  more  than  to  bring  your  Petition  before 
the  former.  This  I  did  by  a  letter  to  the  Governor 
enclosing  it.  What  the  ultimate  determination  of  the 
Assembly  was  respecting  this  matter,  I  am  unable  with 
precision  to  inform  you.  Generally  I  was  given  to  un- 
derstand, that  however  hard  the  case  might  appear  to 
be,  it  was  to  be  ascribed  to  the  nature  of  the  contest  in 
which  we  had  been  oppressively  involved ;  and  though 
to  be  lamented  as  a  misfortune,  was  not  to  be  attributed 
as  a  fault  in  the  Justice  of  this  Country,  since  it  was 
difficult,  if  not  impracticable,  to  draw  a  line  between 


536  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

the  promoters  and  actors,  and  innocent  victims  of  the 
War  in  a  national  point  of  view. 

How  far  the  reasoning  is  good  I  shall  not  take  upon 
me  to  decide,  but  with  much  truth  may  assure  you 
that  I  can  readily  enter  into  your  feelings  on  this  occa- 
sion, and  sincerely  wish  that  those  who  were  the  Con- 
trivers and  Abetters,  were  alone  to  be  the  Sufferers  by 
the  War. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be,  Madam, 
your  most  obedient  and  very  humble  servant, 

G.  WASHINGTON. 
Mrs.  Bristow. 


LETTER  UXXXVI. 


The  Right  Hon.  Edmund  Burke  to  John  Wilmot,  Esq. 
on  the  Subscriptions  raised  for  the  Relief  of  the 
French  Emigrant  Clergy, 

[ibid.   Orig.'\ 


Sir, 
I  WISH  my  stay  in  town  would  have  permitted  me 
to  attend  further  in  the  Committee,  and  to  offer  the 
little  assistance  I  could  give  to  forward  their  very 
laudable  designs.  I  could  do  little  more  than  to  offbr 
to  the  gentlemen  of  the  Committee,  and  to  You,  my 
best  acknowledgments  for  the  unwearied  application 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  537 

which  all  of  you,  and  most  particularly  yourself,  have 
shown  to  this  Charity,  which,  as  long  as  it  is  conducted 
according  to  the  ideas  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  commit- 
tee, at  once  prudent  and  liberal,  must  redound  infinitely 
to  the  honour  of  the  National  Character.  It  is  for  that 
reason  I  beg  leave  most  earnestly  to  recommend  it 
to  them  to  consider  only  what  they  themselves  think 
proper  to  be  done.  I  know  the  sentiments  of  many 
of  the  most  considerable  subscribers ;  and  I  can  speak 
it  with  perfect  certainty,  that  they  repose  the  most  un- 
bounded confidence  in  the  Committee,  and  do  not  think 
them  at  all  responsible  to  any  other  persons  than  to 
them,  the  subscribers,  for  any  thing  they  may  do. 
Above  all  they  do  not  think  themselves  responsible  to 
the  anonymous  scribblers  of  paragraphs  in  the  News- 
papers. They  wish  that  no  man  should  give  an  account 
of  his  own  free  bounty.  If  the  contrary  opinion  and 
practice  should  prevail.  Charity  would  be  put  under 
the  direction  of  Malevolence.  We  know  of  no  Public 
to  which  we  are  accountable,  because  it  is  a  vague 
name ;  and  a  sort  of  fictitious  tribunal,  before  which  we 
never  can  be  acquitted.  Above  all  we  do  not  submit 
to  the  idea,  that  it  should  be  represented  by  the  News- 
papers. Therefore,  I  for  one  (and  I  am  authorized  to 
speak  for  more  than  one),  entreat  that  nothing  which 
can  be  said  in  them  should  prevent  you  from  giving 
that  substantial  and  effectual  relief  to  the  objects  of 
your  charity,  which  respect  to  their  persons  and  their 


588  OniGINAL    LETTERS. 

comfortable  subsistence  absolutely  requires.  I  cannot 
bear  the  thoughts  of  their  being  (as  I  believe  two  hun- 
dred of  them  are)  thrown  like  carcasses  upon  one  an- 
other, two  of  them  in  a  miserable  little  bed,  and  in 
some  cases  three;  that  some  of  them  have  been  ten 
days  without  having  their  shirt  washed.  The  incon- 
venience of  nursing  loathsome,  and  often  dangerous 
disease  with  health,  besides  many  other  obvious  in- 
conveniences which  result  from  this  mode  of  lodging, 
makes  me  most  earnest  that  Relief  should  be  given 
against  it.  This  inconvenient  mode,  I  knew,  had 
arisen  originally  from  the  number  who  crowded  in  at 
once,  and  could  not  otherwise  be  disposed  of,  but  it  is 
continued,  from  the  insufficiency  of  the  limited  allow- 
ance to  answer  all  the  purposes  of  life  in  any  manner 
whatsoever.  I  confess  I  wish  too  that  attention  may 
be  had  to  their  clothes,  which  having  been  originally 
taken  up  as  a  disguise  whilst  they  were  hunted  down 
in  France,  here  exposes  them  to  the  scorn  and  derision 
instead  of  the  compassion  of  the  populace.  Besides, 
their  dispersion  renders  it  difficult  for  them  to  be  kept 
under  the  inspection  of  their  superiors,  a  case  necessary 
to  their  existence.  For  if  but  one  person  in  so  many 
Hundreds  should  be  betrayed  into  any  irregularity,  a 
thing  which  nothing  but  a  most  vigilant  discipline  can 
possibly  prevent,  all  the  worthy,  sober  and  religious 
part  would  be  exposed  to  public  odium,  and  the  whole 
object  of  this  laudable  association  would  be  defeated. 


ORI&IMAL    LETTBB8.  539 

Mankind  is  at  all  times  naturally  apt  to  construe  these 
things  but  too  liberally,  and  to  extend  guilt ;  but  now, 
that  natural  disposition  to  scandal  is  reduced  to  System. 
I  look  on  some  irregularity  not  happening  before  this 
time  with  the  greatest  astonishment.  But  without  the 
last  degree  of  care  it  must  happen. 

Therefore,  pray,  whilst  we  have  a  shilling,  let  us 
trust  to  that  Providence,  which  has  hitherto  so  liberally 
supplied  us,  for  the  rest,  and  spare  no  rational  and 
prudent  expense  to  forward  the  wishes  of  the  principals 
of  their  Clergy,  in  methodizing  and  arranging  their 
people  under  what  they  aim  at,  the  most  rigid  disci- 
pline. I  fear  else  every  inconvenience,  and  things  I 
dread  to  think  of. 

You  will  excuse  the  trouble  I  give  you ;  but  your 
benevolence  has  induced  you  to  go  through  a  great 
deal  of  it.  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  with  a  most 
sincere  respect, 

Sir, 
Your  most  obedient 

and  humble  servant, 

EDM.  BURKE. 

Duke  Street,  October  2^.  1792. 
John  Wilmot,  Esq. 


S40  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 


LETTER  DXXXVII. 

The  Right  Hon.  Edm.  Burke  to  John  Wilmot^  Esq. 

[ibid.   Orig.'\ 

*»*  A  few  months  before  this  Letter  was  written,  Mr.  Burke  had  lost 
his  only  son.  Richard  Burke,  Esq.  succeeded  his  father  in  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  borough  of  Malton,  but  did  not  live  to  take  his  seat  in 
the  House  of  Commons.     He  died  August  the  2''.  1794. 

It  is  to  this  same  affliction  that  Mr.  Burke  alludes  in  his  Letter  to  the 
Duke  of  Bedford,  published  Feb.  24"'.  1796.  "  The  storm  has  gone 
over  me ;  and  I  lie  like  one  of  those  old  Oaks  which  the  late  hurricane 
has  scattered  about  me.  I  am  stripped  of  all  my  honours ;  I  am  torn  up 
by  the  roots,  and  lie  prostrate  on  the  earth." 


Dear  Sir,  . 

I  AM  exceedingly  flattered  by  the  compassionate 
sentiments  that  you  are  pleased  to  entertain  of  a  dcr 
solate,  afflicted,  and  useless  person,  who,  for  a  while, 
and  in  a  little  way,  acted  a  part  under  you,  in  the 
generous  care  you  have  taken  of  the  sufferers  in  our 
common  cause,  and  who  are,  I  am  greatly  afraid,  only 
our  precursors  in  misfortune. . 

It  has  pleased  the  Great  Disposer  of  all  things  to 
give  them,  for  a  short  space  at  least,  for  an  asylum, 
such  a  Country  as  this ;  and  for  a  Protector  a  person 
of  such  zeal  and  humanity  as  you  possess.  Where  our 
asylum  will  be,  when  our  hour  is  come,  and  who  will 
be  the  person  to  succour  and  console  us,  are  things  hid 
in  the  deep. mystery  of  future  dispensation.     I  see  the 


ORIGINAL    LETTERS.  541 

danger,  but  I  do  not  see  the  method  or  the  way  of  an 
escape. 

It  seems  decided,  that  some  great  change  is  to  take 
place  in  the  whole  of  human  affairs.  The  only  thing 
which  appears  to  me  consolatory,  is,  the  magnanimity 
of  the  King  and  the  two  Houses.  We  have  still,  and 
so  have  some  other  nations,  resources  enough,  if  we 
have  the  spirit  and  the  skill  to  use  them.  If  I  thought 
that  they  who  find  no  resource  but  in  submission  to  a 
most  cruel  and  implacable,  and  now  the  most  powerful 
Enemies  that  this  Nation  ever  had,  acted  only  from 
pusillanimity,  we  might  have  hopes,  that  necessity 
might  generate  courage.  But  I  know  that  they  are 
of  another  character  ;  indeed,  men  bold  and  confident 
in  the  extreme.  When,  therefore,  in  a  conflict,  I  see 
the  bold  playing  the  part  of  the  feeble  and  pusillani- 
mous, I  do  not  consider  them  as  shrinking  from  an 
enemy,  but  as  acting  in  his  favour.  This  is  very 
alarming :  and  the  more  so  as,  for  the  first  time  in  our 
struggle  with  France,  (whatever  form  it  might  appear 
in)  its  dangerous  power  and  extravagant  ambition  has 
disunited  our  Councils  and  weakened  our  Efforts. 

But  I  still  praise  the  wisdom  and  the  spirit  of  those 
who  resist  the  great  dangers  that  environ  us  both  from 
without  and  from  within. 

God  may,  whilst  these  dissensions  last,  raise  up  some 
great  military  character  to  save  us.  The  paper  which 
was  sent  to  me  under  your  frank,  though  purporting 


542  ORIGINAL    LETTERSv 

to  be  a  sort  of  manifesto  from  a  Royalist  Lieutenant- 
General  (if  he  is  at  all,  or  a  Royalist)  has  not  added  to 
my  hopes  of  the  appearance  of  such  a  Character.  I 
forget  this  man''s  name,  and  I  have  little  desire  to  recur 
to  his  paper  to  find  it,  though,  I  believe,  it  may  be  on 
my  table. 

I  trust  in  God,  whilst  we  have  so  many  excellent  and 
sound  French  Emigrant  Officers,  we  shall  not,  in  any 
way,  great  or  small,  employ  a  person  capable  of  writing 
such  miserable,  vapouring,  and  empty  stuff. 

Once  more  a  thousand  thanks  for  your  indulgent  re- 
membrance, and  believe  me  ever. 
Dear  Sir, 
Your  most  faithful 
#  and  obliged  humble  servant, 

EDM.  BURKE. 

Feb.  6, 1795. 
J.  Wilraot,  Esq. 


LETTER  DXXXVIII. 

Mr.  BurJce  to  John  Wilmot,  Esq. 


[ibid.] 


Dear  Sir, 
So  far  as  I  am  acquainted  with  the  Debates,  which 
is  very  imperfectly,  I  agree  with  you  in  opinion  about 
their  spirit  and  tendency. 


OttlGINAL    LETTERS.  543 

The  people,  as  you  say,  ought  to  be  made  to  know 
their  danger  in  its  full  extent ;  not  only  its  nearness 
but  its  true  nature. 

They  ought  not  be  lulled  into  security. 
To  debate  the  question  of  Peace  at  all,  in  our  cir- 
cumstances, is  not  a  good  symptom  ;  but  to  suffer  it  to 
be  debated,  as  a  thing  within  our  choice,  looks  almost 
desperate.  In  one  sense,  to  be  sure,  it  is  in  our  choice. 
We  may  have  it  on  the  Terms  on  which  Holland,  and 
the  Austrian  Netherlands,  and  the  Countries  on  the 
Lower  Rhine  enjoy  it. 

I  am  but  a  poor  judge  of  Official  arrangements :  I 
hear  of  them  late  and  irregularly,  and  so  mixed  with 
true  and  false  reports,  that  I  hardly  know  what  to 
make  of  them.  If  the  Duke  of  York  be  at  tl^  head 
of  the  Army,  as  you  say  he  is,  I  am  not  at  all  sorry  for 
it,  provided  he  has  good  support  and  a  good  military 
Council.  I  have  a  very  high  opinion  of  him,  and  his 
rank  (still  if  properly  supported)  will  be  of  great  use 
in  keeping  that  great  machine  in  order.  As  to  expe- 
rience, he  has  more  than  enough.  The  World  has  been 
undone  by  looking  to  experience,  in  a  case  to  which  no 
experience  applies.  He  is  as  old  a  man,  I  believe, 
and  has  as  much  experience  as  Pichegru.  We  want 
energy,  we  want  enterprise,  much  more  than  we  want 
experience ;  for  if  that  could  have  saved  Europe,  it 
was  full  of  old  officers.  In  a  case  like  ours  I  have  no 
opinion  at  all  of  old  men.     If  nothing  can  be  done  by 


544  ORIGINAL    LETTERS. 

the  young,  nothing  can  be  done  at  all.  I  verily  believe 
there  is  not,  in  the  Government  of  France,  or  in  the 
Command  of  its  Armies,  a  man  of  above  five  and  thirty. 
I  have  the  honour  to  be,  with  the  most  sincere 
respect, 

Yours  ever, 

EDM.  BURKE. 

Feb.  l^h.  1795. 
J.  Wilmot,  Esq. 


THE  END. 


ERRATA. 

Vol.  i.  p.  268, 1.  22,  for  "  the  redemption,"  r.  "  general  redemption.' 
Vol.  ii.  p.  12,  Anne  Boleyn's  Letter  should  be  addressed, 
"  Mons'.  Mods',  de  BouUan 
mon  pere." 
Vol.  iii.  p.  203, 1.  4  of  note,  r.  "  relates  to." 

209, 1.  a,  for  "  Ser  Rode,"  r.  "  Ser  Rope." 


LONDON: 

PRINTED   BY   THOMAS   DAVISON,   WHITEFKIARS. 


ELlls^   Sir  Henry 


AUTHOR 


TITLE 


QriginaULetiers. 


DA 
25 


2nd, ser, 
vol  -^1 


Ellis,  Sir  Henry- 
Original  letters 


DA 
25 

.L4E66 
2nd, ser • 
vol,  4 


<J    W<ry 


,5    '    V. 


'      ,    •'   I;  '  VV , 


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